SEATTLE, WA – Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immediate medical treatment significantly improves a patient’s chance of survival with minimum impairment.
Snoqualmie Valley Hospital in Snoqualmie, Washington, has joined forces with UW Medicine’s Comprehensive Stroke Center TeleStroke Program at Harborview Medical Center to ensure that the Snoqualmie community has immediate access to expert evaluation and treatments in collaboration with UW Medicine’s stroke specialists.
“We are happy to partner with and provide these important resources to Snoqualmie Valley Hospital’s physicians and patients,” said Dr. David Tirschwell, medical director of UW
Medicine’s Comprehensive Stroke Center. “Our specialists can help critical access hospital physicians determine on a case-by-case basis the best treatments for their stroke patients. Some patients may be best served by remaining at Snoqualmie Valley Hospital, while some will benefit from being transferred to a comprehensive stroke center such as Harborview for time-` sensitive stroke treatment. TeleStroke allows everyone to work together to improve treatment rates and outcomes after stroke.”
TeleStroke partners receive access to immediate telephone and/or video consultations with a vascular neurologist (stroke specialist) from Harborview, the only advanced comprehensive stroke center in the state that is certified by The Joint Commission (TJC). The specialist can interact with both the patient and the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital physicians using telemedicine, review the patient’s digital radiology images and provide immediate feedback to the physician requesting consultation. Patients can also be directly transferred to Harborview via ambulance or Airlift Northwest.
”We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Harborview Medical Center to further elevate the services we emergently deliver to our local residents around the highly time-sensitive event of stroke,” said Dr Kim Witkop, chief medical officer and interim CEO. “This collaboration supports our guiding principle for patients to receive the right care at the right time in the right place.”
The UW Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center at Harborview is a national leader in providing surgical and nonsurgical therapies to treat and prevent all types of strokes. As a Washington State Level 1 stroke center, it has the personnel, infrastructure and expertise to rapidly diagnose and treat all stroke patients, including those who require the most intensive medical and surgical care, specialized tests or interventional therapies. It is also the first stroke center in the state to receive Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission.
Other TeleStroke partners include Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, UW Medical Center and Valley Medical Center in Seattle; Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima; Confluence Health in Central Washington; Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington; PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham; St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Idaho; and Samaritan Healthcare in Eastern Washington.