Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Strokes in rural America

Always had a soft spot for rural places, being a small-town boy from Arkansas...

Providence wants to help treat stroke victims via high-speed Internet:
Providence neurologist, Nicholas Okon says many rural clinics don’t have a team of stroke experts, and flying a patient by helicopter or driving by ambulance takes time.

Nicholas Okon: “There’s only one FDA approved treatment for a stroke, and it’s an IV medicine that has to be given within three hours of the stroke symptoms beginning. So if they present to a facility that doesn’t have a neurologist or expertise in providing this medicine, they may not have that opportunity.

No comments: