WakeMed Telestroke and Teleneurology Programs Set to Go-Live November 9 2020

When it comes to stroke, every second counts – that’s why knowing the signs of a stroke and what to do if you think you’re having one is critical. Once you arrive at the hospital with stroke symptoms, it’s important that you get the diagnosis and intervention you need as soon as possible. That’s because experts say ‘Time is Brain’ – meaning for every second wasted during or after a stroke, you can lose critical brain function.

Because time is of the essence when it comes to stroke, our WakeMed Stroke Task Force has been hard at work expanding our community services and exploring more opportunities to offer timely, high quality stroke care. The Task Force, made up of our key community and hospital stakeholders, approved the implementation of telestroke and teleneurology to expedite prompt diagnoses and appropriate treatment recommendations across all WakeMed hospitals and healthplexes.

Telestroke

Our new telestroke program will provide patients at any of our Emergency Departments with 24/7 access to neurological evaluation and consultation within ten minutes of arrival. Implementing this service system-wide will allow specialists to access a patient virtually at the bedside via video, review scans in real-time, collaborate with emergency room staff and recommend a treatment plan to get stroke patients the interventions they need as quickly as possible. Telestroke will also soon support patients at NC hospitals who lack resource and stroke specialist care with virtual support, improving stroke prognosis and helping them ensure a better outcome for those patients.

Here are just a few of our powerful, brain-saving telestroke services and features:

• Access to 7 vascular trained neurologists (Virtual Medical Staff) for virtual emergent consults 24/7
• Access to stroke specialists to respond to all emergency department and inpatient acute stroke consults
• Deployment of Virtual Medical Staff to focus on the acute phase and Raleigh Neurology to focus on post-acute stroke care

How to Access Telestroke

Providers can access this support by opening RapidConnect and searching CODE STROKE NEUROLOGY-ON CALL.

Teleneurology

Additionally, a new teleneurology program allows fellowship-trained vascular neurologists to virtually consult and make daily rounds with WakeMed North Hospital patients supporting general neurological problems, such as headache, dementia and meningitis.

This program also boasts important benefits:

• 3 vascular trained neurologists (Virtual Medical Staff) available for inpatient rounding at North Hospital only
• In-person rounds from 8:00 am to noon daily
• Expansion of Electroencephalogram (EEG) services to evaluate the electrical activity in the brain which reduces the need for transferring patients to other facilities and keeps patients closer to home and their families

How to Access Teleneurology

To request a consult, provides should open RapidConnect and search VMS TELENEUROLOGY NORTH. Raleigh Neurology will continue onsite coverage at Raleigh Campus and Cary Hospital

With a strong foundation established by our premier Raleigh and Cary Primary Stroke Centers, the Stroke Task Force is prepared to roll out telestroke and teleneurology on November 9, 2020.

Prevent the devastation of stroke. Learn BEFAST.

Remember the signs of stroke by using the acronym BEFAST. Here’s what it means:

B – Balance: Sudden loss of balance or coordination

E – Eyes: Sudden vision change/trouble seeing

F – Face: One side of the face droops when the person smiles

A – Arm: One arm drifts down when the person raises arms

S – Speech: Person’s speech in slurred, slow or strange

T – Time: If you or someone around you is experiencing one, some or all of these symptoms, BEFAST and call 911 immediately for emergency medical assistance.

Do not drive yourself or the person to the hospital. Paramedics can begin to help stop a stroke in the field. This is critical. The longer the brain is starved of oxygen, the greater the chances of death or permanent disability.