Northern Westchester Hospital
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Suspect a stroke? Act FAST. Call 911
F Facial Drooping – Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop or is t numb?
A Arm Weakness – Ask the person to raise both arms. Is there any numbness or weakness?
S Speech Difficulty – Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Listen for slurred or strange sounding pronunciations.
T Time is of the Essence – If you see any of these signs, call 911 immediately!
What is a stroke?
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, preventing oxygen and nutrients from reaching brain tissue. Without oxygen and nutrients, brain cells start to die, leading to a loss of abilities controlled by the affected area of the brain.
Strokes are also treatable and preventable. The faster a patient is treated, the greater the chance of recovery. For some types of stroke, treatment should be administered within the first three hours. To reduce the risk of brain damage and increase the chance of a full recovery, getting to a hospital as quickly as possible after the first sign of a stroke is critical.
What are the symptoms?
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. If you suspect someone you know is having a stroke, ask the person to perform these simple tasks:
- Smile—the smile should not be crooked.
- Repeat a simple sentence, such as “It is sunny out today.”— Speech should be coherent.
- Raise both arms—arms should rise together.
You might also ask the person to stick out his or her tongue. If the tongue goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
If the person has trouble performing any of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
A person experiencing a stroke may experience these symptoms:
- Sudden weakness or numbness, especially on one side of the body or face
- Sudden trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing
- Sudden dizziness, difficulty walking or loss of coordination or balance
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
If you experience any of these signs, get to the nearest emergency room as quickly as possible.
For more information on prevention and treatment of strokes, visit www.strokeassociation.org.
NWH has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations, and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
Customized patient education materials, based on patients’ individual risk profiles, are made available just before being discharged from the Hospital. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the American Stroke Association’s Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.
NWH is designated as a Stroke Center by the New York State Health Department.
In order to achieve this prestigious designation, NWH was required to meet stringent guidelines and must maintain clinical standards which are reviewed annually by the DOH including:
- Following specific protocols designed from evidence-based guidelines established by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association
- Ensuring the availability of a dedicated Stroke Team including all of the staff in the Emergency Department
- Conducting ongoing staff education specifically focused on stroke care
- Monitoring continuous quality improvement efforts
- Providing annual training with the local ambulance departments
Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) has received the American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM–Stroke (GWTG–Stroke) Gold Performance Achievement Award.
The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize this hospital for achieving 85% or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for consecutive 12 month intervals and 75% or higher compliance with 6 of 10 Get With The Guidelines Stroke Quality Measures to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.
The award recognizes NWH’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.
To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award, NWH consistently complied for at least one year with the requirements in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation.
The American Stroke Association commends Northern Westchester Hospital for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols, said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., Vice-Chair of the national Get With the Guidelines Steering Committee and Vice-Chair of the Neurology department and director of acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.
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