In April, MSBI made NYC stroke history with our colleagues at FDNY. Earlier this year, the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council partnered with New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and the American Heart Association to create a new system of care for stroke patients in NYC. FDNY EMS and other EMS teams began a new protocol of pre-notifying thrombectomy-capable hospitals of potential severe stroke patients before their arrival to the Emergency Department. EMTs look at clinical signs of stroke like facial droop, arm weakness, hand grip, and speech, and call ahead to the Emergency Department so that the ED and stroke teams can organize in advance. On April 4, FDNY enacted this process for the very first time, alerting the MSBI ED team that we had a stroke patient on the way. Our teams took action immediately – clearing an ED bed, alerting neurology and stroke teams, and getting the catheterization lab ready. By inserting a small catheter into the patient’s brain and removing the clot in only 11 minutes, normal blood flow was fully restored. Timing is critical in strokes; the more time it takes to restore blood flow, the more the more brain tissue damage there is. This patient was back to normal function within minutes of the procedure. Our stroke team has always done an incredible job of caring for our patients, and this new collaboration with FDNY and other partners in NYC will allow us to save even more lives and to preserve more fuction. Since 2009, we have been performing thrombectomies to restore blood flow to the brain and improve patients’ recovery. We are now applying to become a Joint Commission Certified Thrombectomy Center. You can click below to see a few members of this team. I am incredibly proud of them.
