Celebrating 15 Years of Specialized Stroke Care at Oroville Hospital
On the evening of Aug. 3, Weldon “Lew” Lewis looked at his wife, Karen, and knew instantly something was wrong. “She was slumped in her chair, with an odd look on her face,” he recalled. “I asked her if she was OK, but she couldn’t respond.” Suspecting she was having a stroke, he called 911.
When the paramedics arrived, they told Lew they needed to take Karen to Oroville Hospital right away, a 19-mile drive, rather than to the local hospital only 2 miles from the Lewises’ home in Gridley. They explained that, as an American Stroke Association-designated Primary Stroke Center, Oroville Hospital had specially trained clinicians in the emergency room to evaluate and treat stroke patients.
A CT scan of Karen’s brain was performed soon after she arrived in the ER because her symptoms suggested she was having a stroke. And since she showed up very soon after the start of her symptoms, she was eligible to receive a highly effective clot-dissolving drug known as tPA. The medication began to take effect within minutes. “All of a sudden, she could move her left arm,” Lew said. Karen’s condition continued to improve through the night and over the next three days. By Aug. 7, she was able to leave the hospital and receive follow-up care at home rather than in a rehab facility.
Both Karen and Lew are thankful for the prompt, specialized care she received in the ER. “Before Karen had the stroke, I didn’t realize how important it is to have a primary stroke center here in our community,” Lew said. “The care she received at Oroville Hospital was absolutely outstanding. They saved her life!”
This year, Oroville Hospital is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the opening of its primary stroke center. Obtaining this certification was a landmark achievement for our hospital and our community. Since 2011, we’ve provided specialized care for almost 3,500 patients with strokes or transient ischemic attacks. TIAs are very small or fleeting strokes, which can progress into a full-blown stroke without quick preventive treatment.
Primary stroke centers don’t just save lives: they give patients the chance to have a better life. Patients who receive this expert, timely care have improved outcomes, including the potentially complete resolution of stroke symptoms. They have less paralysis, less chance of dying, and a lower risk of another stroke.
Our catchphrase in stroke care is “Time is brain” – every minute a stroke goes untreated, nearly 2 million brain cells die. With trained clinicians available to rapidly administer tPA, centers like ours can restore critical functions like getting dressed, eating, walking and talking in stroke patients who might otherwise have been left with more severe, permanent brain damage. That’s why we encourage patients who have stroke symptoms – or their family – to call 911 as soon as they develop them.
We continuously review our treatment processes to improve our patients’ chances of surviving a stroke with as much function as possible. A key measure we work to lower is door-to-needle time – the number of minutes between a patient’s arrival in the ER and the moment they begin receiving clot-dissolving medication via an IV. Guidelines recommend a door-to-needle time of 60 minutes or less.
At Oroville Hospital, a physician observes the CT scan as it’s being conducted on the patient, so he or she can make a treatment decision as soon as possible. We ensure that the medications needed to treat patients are immediately available when that decision is reached. Our physicians, nurses, radiology department and the whole hospital work as a team to make this care happen – starting in the ER and continuing throughout the patient’s stay. We also provide physical, occupational and speech therapy.
In 2011, our program won the American Stroke Association’s Silver Award, the highest award a first-year stroke program could receive. Every year since then, we’ve won the Gold Plus Award for our commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
While these accolades are significant, equally as important is the real-world evidence we’ve witnessed for 15 years: the tremendous positive impact our program has had on so many people needing stroke care in our community – like Karen Lewis.
Matthew N. Fine, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Director of Patient Safety
Oroville Hospital
Meghan Shorter, MD
Associate Director of Patient Safety
Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine
Oroville Hospital