Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015 - (Page 5)

MAKING THE RIGHT CALL "That is why it's important to call 911 when someone has stroke symptoms. DON'T WAIT TO GET HELP It speeds up the process of arriving at a stroke center. People should never drive themselves to the hospital. As part of our commitment to great care, UM St. Joseph is part of the University of Maryland Rehabilitation Network that helps patients and their families along their journey to recovery. To ﬁnd our full continuum of services, visit umms. org/services/rehab. Unfortunately, we've had that happen. It endangers the patient and others," Krummel-McCracken says. "The most miraculous thing about the drug is that within 15 minutes of receiving it, Jack began to come around," Montague says. "When I visited him the next day in the intensive care unit, he was tired, but there was no evidence that he'd had a stroke. When I discovered him in the driveway, I was 100 percent sure this was going to be a serious, life-altering event." "I was so lucky to be close to UM St. Joseph, where they Jack Machen is back to his vigorous exercise routine after a full recovery from a stroke. know exactly what they are doing," Machen says. "The doctors, the nursing staff, everyone was so understanding and compassionate. All of the care was oriented toward Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treating major trauma," my well-being. I had my motor functions back the next Krummel-McCracken says. day, and I was driving within a week. I'm now back to running and working with a personal trainer." Once Machen's ischemic stroke was conﬁrmed and Machen's cardiologist has diagnosed an atrial ﬁbrillation, his family consulted, he received tPA, which began its which caused the blood clot that led to his stroke. Machen miraculous work quickly. is now being treated for this condition and is doing well. "Jack received his tPA within 42 minutes of arrival," The Stroke Center at UM St. Joseph is certiﬁed by the Krummel-McCracken explains. "That is well below the national standard of 60 minutes. According to national Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Sys- standards, patients should see a doctor within 10 minutes tems. "Our dedicated stroke care team has regular perfor- of arrival and have the CT scan within 25 minutes. Our mance-improvement meetings and is constantly looking patients see the doctor immediately upon arrival at the for better and more efficient ways to care for patients with emergency door, and in Machen's case, his CT scan hap- stroke-like symptoms so that we stay state-of-the-art," pened within six minutes. Right there, we've blown the says Chief of Emergency Medicine at UM St. Joseph Neal goal out of the water." Frankel, DO. ACT FAST Know the symptoms and what to do for stroke: ■ ■ ■ ■ Facial droop Arm weakness Speech difficulties Time-call 911 and how it's treated at stjosephtowson.com/stroke. Other symptoms include trouble walking, dizziness, confusion and severe headache with no known cause. Be aware of these stroke risks: ■ High blood pressure ■ Heart disease ■ Diabetes ■ Smoking ■ Overweight ■ Atrial ﬁbrillation stjosephtowson.com | Spring 2015 5 http://umms.org/services/rehab http://www.stjosephtowson.com http://www.stjosephtowson.com/stroke

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015

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Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015