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Milton Hospital Receives Primary Stroke Services
Designation
Milton, Mass. - Milton Hospital has been licensed as one of Massachusetts'
first hospitals designated to provide Primary Stroke Services.
The designation indicates that the hospital is prepared to rapidly
diagnose and treat acute stroke patients. Department of Public Health
(DPH) Commissioner Christine C. Ferguson announced Milton Hospital's
stroke designation, along with that of other hospitals statewide,
at a recent press conference.
The Primary Stroke Service regulations were developed to provide
acute stroke patients with a greater chance of successful treatment.
Through a combination of community education, medical staff training,
implementation of hospital protocols geared toward quick stroke
diagnosis and treatment, and results analysis, the program is intended
to improve treatment of stroke patients before significant irreversible
damage occurs.
The hospital has appointed neurologist Paul S. Blachman, M.D., as
its stroke service medical director.
"It is tragic when
people don't come to the hospital early at the time of a stroke,"
Dr. Blachman said. "We have effective treatments that can minimize
damage if they are administered early. With this primary stroke
designation, Milton Hospital will see patients when something can
be done to help them."
Treating patients with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a 'clot-busting'
drug, is an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke if administered
within a three-hour window from the onset of symptoms. The time-sensitive
nature of tPA therapy requires that acute stroke patients be transported
to hospitals that are prepared to provide a quick response.
"Time is brain," Dr. Blachman explained. Milton Hospital was
granted the primary stroke service license after about a year of
preparation. State-mandated criteria for the program include 24-hour,
7-day availability of an Acute Stroke Team, equipped and trained
to handle stroke emergencies. The multi-disciplinary team includes
members of radiology, neurology, laboratory services, emergency
nursing and emergency medicine.
Training and coordination with local Emergency Medical Service (EMS)
providers is also required, so that the hospital's emergency department
is prepared to receive and triage patients with acute stroke symptoms.
The hospital is also required to periodically review its stroke
services, and make any necessary revisions to the program to ensure
ongoing compliance with strict DPH guidelines.
Continuing education, including ongoing training of emergency department
and EMS personnel and an extensive community education and awareness
initiative, are also mandated. Community education includes information
regarding the prevention of stroke, recognition of stroke symptoms
and stroke treatment.
Stroke, sometimes thought of as a "brain attack," occurs when blood
flow to the brain is interrupted. It is the nation's third leading
cause of death and the leading cause of severe, long-term disability.
In Massachusetts, 17,799 people were hospitalized with stroke symptoms
and 3,557 people died as a result of a stroke in 2002. Additional
information on strokes is available from the American Stroke Association,
a division of the American Heart Association, at http://www.strokeassociation.org.
Milton Hospital has 250 physicians on staff, representing primary
care and 22 different medical specialties, from pediatrics to geriatrics.
The 81-bed community hospital is affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center and provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient
surgical specialties, emergency medicine, critical care, neurology
and cardiology. The hospital has free on-site parking and is easily
accessible by Routes 93, 3 and 95.
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