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Home » Healthy People in Action » Stories from the Field » Stroke Victims Benefit from Improved Emergency Medical Services – A CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Success Story

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Stroke Victims Benefit from Improved Emergency Medical Services – A CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Success Story

Treatments received after a stroke can save lives if the victim receives immediate help from well-trained EMS providers. —Carol Cunningham, MD, State Medical Director, Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of EMS

Stroke is a leading cause of death and significant disability, including paralysis, speech difficulties, and emotional problems, in the United States. Fortunately, many people can survive or recover with fewer disabilities if they get medical care soon after symptoms begin. Studies have shown that patients who come to a hospital emergency department (ED) by ambulance get treated faster.

Because more than half of all U.S. stroke patients arrive at the ED by ambulance, emergency medical services (EMS) providers can play a key role in helping people survive a stroke. In Allen County, Ohio, Dr. Valerie Lint worked for several years in the Lima Memorial Health System as assistant medical director, EMS director, and an ED physician, and her experiences motivated her to want to help. She saw that it was important to make sure that local EMS providers know how to identify stroke victims, make quick and accurate decisions about how to care for them, and get them to the hospital quickly.

Learn how the Allen County Health Department partnered with the Lima Memorial Health System to start a comprehensive training program to improve the standard of acute stroke care provided by EMS and ED staff.

Click here to read the full story [PDF - 375KB]

Date Posted: 05/27/2014
Organization Name: Allen County Health Department
219 E Market Street
Lima, OH 45801
United States
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Organization Mission: 

The mission of Allen County Public Health is to protect and improve the health of all Allen County citizens by preventing disease and promoting good health and access to quality health care.

Organization Type: 
Local Government Agency
Program Name: 

Advanced Stroke Life Support Initiative

219 E Market Street
Lima, OH 45801
United States
Healthy People 2020 Topic Area(s) addressed: 
Heart Disease and Stroke
Healthy People 2020 Objective(s) addressed: 
HDS-2,
HDS-3,
HDS-17
Healthy People 2020 overarching goal addressed: 
Attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death.
Year: 
2014
Supplemental Material: 
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The Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant supports prevention efforts in 50 states, the District of Columbia, 8 US territories, and 2 American Indian tribes. It is managed by the Division of Population Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments. For more information, go to http://www.cdc.gov/phhsblockgrant.


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