When it comes to stroke care, time is everything. Every minute that passes during a stroke increases the potential for brain damage, which makes receiving care quickly the key to survival and recovery.
A stroke occurs when a clot blocks a blood vessel to the brain or a blood vessel bursts, preventing oxygen from reaching the brain. It is the fifth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S.
Staff at Mercy Hospital Jefferson are celebrating the hospital’s recent achievement. The Time Critical Diagnosis Unit of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recently certified Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City as a Level 2 Stroke Center, upgrading the hospital from its previous Level 3 designation.
According to a written statement from Mercy Jefferson, as a Level 2 Stroke Center, the hospital is a primary receiving hospital for stroke patients. Mercy Jefferson caregivers have the expertise and resources to provide most aspects of stroke care, including thrombolytic therapy – the use of medication to dissolve the blood clot responsible for a stroke – and the important care needed immediately after thrombolysis.
“We have been working diligently for the last five years to build our stroke program to this point,” said Dr. Karthik Iyer, Mercy Jefferson’s chief medical officer. “We focus on following research-based guidelines, collaborating across different teams and specialties within Mercy Jefferson, and gaining valuable experience caring for stroke patients. It really has taken everyone across the hospital to earn this designation.”
Josh Ennis, stroke program coordinator at Mercy Jefferson, said as a Level 3 center, the hospital would assess patients, give them the clot-busting drug, but then have to send them to a higher level hospital, which was Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County.
He said the designation to Level 2 is a big deal.
“It’s an exciting thing for us and for the community,” he said. “The hospital has worked really hard to be able to keep these patients, create these programs and build our center up. It’s an exciting time for us.”
The Mercy Jefferson stroke program includes a specialized stroke team to care for patients right away and also an acute rehabilitation team capable of providing extended physical rehabilitation after a patient is discharged from acute hospital care.
Ennis said after patients are diagnosed with a stroke and possibly receive thrombolytic therapy, the patients would then receive acute inpatient rehab.
“(We) will admit them to the hospital,” Ennis said. “During their hospital stay, they will get evaluated by PT/OT/speech and then … they’ll decide if (the patient needs) a little more rehab, which is very common in stroke patients to need a little extra rehab. We have this wonderful acute rehab unit here at Mercy Jefferson. We can get them admitted to this acute rehab unit and they can stay there however long as they need to complete their additional recovery time before they’re discharged back home or to long-term care, if that is what is needed. It gives them that extra little time in the hospital to be able to continue to build up their strength. The goal of that unit is to help them recover physically from the deficits of stroke.”
Dr. Marshall Kirsch, Mercy Jefferson’s stroke program medical director, said a Level 2 Stroke Center is an amazing resource to have in Jefferson County.
“It also makes us a vital link to the rural communities surrounding Jefferson County by providing this critical care without the need to head all the way to St. Louis,” he said.
Hospital staff said to receive optimal stroke care, it is important to recognize the signs of a stroke.
A helpful phrase for spotting stroke symptoms is “BE FAST” — balance, eyes, face, arms and speech, which can all indicate a possible stroke. The “T” stands for time as a reminder that seeking treatment quickly is the key to survival and recovery.
In addition to its new designation as a Level 2 Stroke Center, Mercy Jefferson earned the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus award with Stroke Honor Roll and Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll designations. The Get With the Guidelines award honors hospitals that follow nationally recognized, research-based guidelines to treat stroke and educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.