Memorial Hermann Health System recently received $750,000 in state funding to expand its mobile stroke unit. The funding will allow Memorial Hermann to add a second mobile stroke unit to increase reach and allow Memorial Hermann to improve stroke outcomes across the city.
“This is a specialized team,” said Stephanie Parker, Director of the Memorial Hermann Mobile Stroke Unit. “This is the stroke team of the hospital coming to the patient’s home to expedite the treatment. The faster we can get to the patient, the better chance they have for recovery and improvement.”
Introduced in 2014 under the direction of Dr. James Grotta, the Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) is the first specialized ambulance for prehospital stroke treatment in the United States. The MSU provides all diagnostic tools and stroke expertise that result in therapeutic treatment at the site of the emergency.
This novel model for delivering acute stroke treatment is advancing stroke care in Houston and has the potential for broad impact across the nation. If patients can be evaluated, imaged and treated before they are transported via ambulance to the emergency department, data suggests that prehospital treatment can save a critical hour almost doubling the odds of a patient being discharged directly to home after their stroke. It is expected that patients treated on the MSU will have fewer long term disabilities, providing them with a better quality of life, and potentially reducing overall health care costs.
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