UC Health has acquired new state-of-the-art mobile units that would help them respond to stroke emergencies faster than ever.
The new mobile stroke units, which cost $1 Million worth of training and equipment a piece, are aimed to provide stroke patients the clot-busting drugs they need to get a better chance of recovery and survival much faster. The first unit was dispatched in the Cincinnati region last August 11, and it is only the 23rd of its kind in the whole nation.
In the Cincinnati region, 45 minutes is the average time that stroke patients receive clot-busting medication after their arrival at the hospital. However, the new mobile unit is equipped with a CT scanner and the clot-busting medication tissue plasminogen activator.
The unit deploys with a paramedic trained in mobile care, an emergency medical technician, a critical care nurse, and a CT technician. The unit can reach a stroke doctor via telemedicine and provide hospital-level care in case of an emergency.
According to Dr. Joseph Broderick, director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute, the unit can “shorten the time between the onset of stroke-like symptoms and the delivery of clot-busting medication.”
“Millions of brain cells die every minute that stroke treatment is delayed, and research shows that mobile stroke units can provide treatment 20 to 30 minutes faster than in an emergency department,” Dr. Broderick added.
The Springfield Township Fire Department, located at 9150 Winton Road, Finneytown, will be the base of the unit. Hamilton County’s 911 call center will be the dispatcher of the unit upon emergencies. People can request the service from 7 am to 7 pm every day, including holidays. The mobile stroke unit will respond to calls within a 15-minute radius and take the patients to the nearest proper medical center.
Amanda Naigeleisen, UC Health’s spokeswoman, admitted that they had been planning to roll out the unit last March, but due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic, they were forced to delay the unit’s start until August.
(Source: Cincinnati.com)
