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Stroke Ready Accreditation
Dr. Matt Chovaz explains what the BE FAST acronym means and when you should go to the hospital.
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Learn more about Matt Chovaz, MD
Matt Chovaz, MD
Matt Chovaz, MD is an Emergency Department physician, Assistant Medical Director of Dare County EMS.Learn more about Matt Chovaz, MD
Transcription:
Stroke Ready Accreditation
Caitlin Whyte: The Outer Banks Hospital has once again demonstrated a commitment to a higher standard of care for the community by achieving certification as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital. This designation for excellence in the care of stroke patients is awarded by the Joint Commission and the American Heart and the American Stroke associations. While teleneurology services that assist with stroke diagnosis have been available at the hospital since 2014, this certification is a big deal and here to tell us why is Dr. Matt Chovaz an Emergency Department Physician and Assistant Medical Director of Dare County EMS and the director of the stroke program at Outer Banks Hospital. This is Outer Banks Health. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. So Dr. Chovaz, what does stroke ready certification actually mean?
Dr. Chovaz: So stroke ready really designates hospital being equip to treat stroke patients in a timely evidence based care before we need to transfer them or admit them into the hospital or a primary comprehensive stroke center. We are the first hospital in this region to incorporate a 24-7 neurology program doing that back in 2014 to help assist with our stroke treatment and now this is just taking the next step of diagnoses and treatment of stroke care taking it to the next level with this certification.
Host: So what was involved in preparing for the certification? Tell us about that.
Dr. Chovaz: There's a lot actually. So the first thing we did was to put together a team to really look at it and it was a pretty comprehensive team and myself. We've got our nurses in on it, our techs, our radiology department, folks in the quality department, our case managers, folks from the rehab. Getting a multidisciplinary team involved to look at the stroke care and all the aspects of it, and then after we did that, then buttoning down on our care. The hospital underwent a pretty rigorous onsite review with the joint commission looking at compliance and specific requirements that they have. Things like dedicated stroke program, staffing by qualified medical professionals in treating stroke care, 24 7 ability to perform diagnostic and lab testing collaboration with the local EMF agencies, having the ability to tele-medicine, ability to administer clot busting medication for eligible patients as well as a pretty robust community education program, you know folks in stroke prevention because thats a big part of it and the timely recognition of stroke as well as the stroke care. Then ongoing were dong chart reviews and looking at what were doing and making sure our care is on point with best practices. And then putting all that together all of that to give our presentation to the joint commission when they come out and do a site visit. And they look through everything with a fine tooth comb and try and find anything were doing wrong, and they did that and granted our approval.
Host: So that sounds like a lot of work. Why is this such a big deal for Outer Banks Hospital? Why go through all that paperwork?
Dr. Chovaz: I think it's great for, you know, for our patients and the community. Again, a lot of the stuff we were doing is we were doing before this, but then being able to put it all together in a package, have a team focused on stroke care. You know stroke is a big deal in the United States I think on average. So every 40 seconds someone suffers from a stroke. So happening all the time and just getting, getting ready for our community and then preparing to take care of these folks in line with what, you know, the stroke experts are saying is the best way to do things.
Host: Now let's get down to talking about an actual stroke itself. How can people recognize signs of a stroke while it's happening?
Dr. Chovaz: The acronym a lot of people had heard was the FAST. So you know, if you see any facial droop, blurred speech, arm weakness, you know that's what people were looking for. And now we actually do a B FAST one cause we want to make sure people know that balance or dizziness. That can be a sign of a stroke as well. So anything, you know, that kind of thick tongue speech is a lot of times how people describe it or a hard time getting words out. You know, you know what you want to say, but you can't. That's all it goes in the speech realm.
Host: So when would be the point to come to a hospital or call EMS?
Dr. Chovaz: The moment you start noticing any of these. So you're kind of like we say with heart and if you're having a heart attack, time is muscle. Get to the hospital right away. Think of it as the same thing. You know, time is brain. So the sooner that you can get to the hospital and we can get treatment started, and looking into this, the better off that our outcomes we're going to have. So once you recognize some of these symptoms or you recognize them in a loved one, calling 911, and getting them out there is the best plan.
Host: Tell us what's going on now in the community now, should a patient who is having stroke symptoms come to the hospital during COVID-19?
Dr. Chovaz: Yes. So stroke is still an emergency. So we are still here treating all the emergencies along with the COVID-19. So if someone starts to have symptoms of a stroke, you know, I would recommend a call 911 and get to the hospital if they're a hundred percent against that, at least talk to your doctor who knows you. But I think they're going to recommend you come to the hospital as well because this is absolutely a life threatening or life changing disease that we do have treatments for. So come to the hospital early and we can evaluate it.
Host: Dr. Chovaz, is there anything else that you want to add either about the certification or stroke care in general at Outer Banks Hospital?
Dr. Chovaz: Yeah, again, recognizing that the team and the effort that everyone's put in for it, I mean it is a big deal. A lot of people put a lot of time and effort to it and it just shows, you know, what people are willing to jump up and do. I think the quality of care, you know, the care that you're getting here for your stroke is the same care that you're going to get at any you know, acute stroke ready hospital. We are definitely in line with the best practices for treatment and the best practice guidelines and all of that. And the work that folks have done to make that happen is just phenomenal.
Host: Well, thank you for your time and for this vital information, Dr. Chovaz. And congratulations on certification. If you are experiencing symptoms of a stroke, please call 911. And if you enjoyed this episode, you can find more like it in our podcast library and be sure to share this episode on all your social channels. This is Outer Banks Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Thank you for joining us.
Stroke Ready Accreditation
Caitlin Whyte: The Outer Banks Hospital has once again demonstrated a commitment to a higher standard of care for the community by achieving certification as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital. This designation for excellence in the care of stroke patients is awarded by the Joint Commission and the American Heart and the American Stroke associations. While teleneurology services that assist with stroke diagnosis have been available at the hospital since 2014, this certification is a big deal and here to tell us why is Dr. Matt Chovaz an Emergency Department Physician and Assistant Medical Director of Dare County EMS and the director of the stroke program at Outer Banks Hospital. This is Outer Banks Health. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. So Dr. Chovaz, what does stroke ready certification actually mean?
Dr. Chovaz: So stroke ready really designates hospital being equip to treat stroke patients in a timely evidence based care before we need to transfer them or admit them into the hospital or a primary comprehensive stroke center. We are the first hospital in this region to incorporate a 24-7 neurology program doing that back in 2014 to help assist with our stroke treatment and now this is just taking the next step of diagnoses and treatment of stroke care taking it to the next level with this certification.
Host: So what was involved in preparing for the certification? Tell us about that.
Dr. Chovaz: There's a lot actually. So the first thing we did was to put together a team to really look at it and it was a pretty comprehensive team and myself. We've got our nurses in on it, our techs, our radiology department, folks in the quality department, our case managers, folks from the rehab. Getting a multidisciplinary team involved to look at the stroke care and all the aspects of it, and then after we did that, then buttoning down on our care. The hospital underwent a pretty rigorous onsite review with the joint commission looking at compliance and specific requirements that they have. Things like dedicated stroke program, staffing by qualified medical professionals in treating stroke care, 24 7 ability to perform diagnostic and lab testing collaboration with the local EMF agencies, having the ability to tele-medicine, ability to administer clot busting medication for eligible patients as well as a pretty robust community education program, you know folks in stroke prevention because thats a big part of it and the timely recognition of stroke as well as the stroke care. Then ongoing were dong chart reviews and looking at what were doing and making sure our care is on point with best practices. And then putting all that together all of that to give our presentation to the joint commission when they come out and do a site visit. And they look through everything with a fine tooth comb and try and find anything were doing wrong, and they did that and granted our approval.
Host: So that sounds like a lot of work. Why is this such a big deal for Outer Banks Hospital? Why go through all that paperwork?
Dr. Chovaz: I think it's great for, you know, for our patients and the community. Again, a lot of the stuff we were doing is we were doing before this, but then being able to put it all together in a package, have a team focused on stroke care. You know stroke is a big deal in the United States I think on average. So every 40 seconds someone suffers from a stroke. So happening all the time and just getting, getting ready for our community and then preparing to take care of these folks in line with what, you know, the stroke experts are saying is the best way to do things.
Host: Now let's get down to talking about an actual stroke itself. How can people recognize signs of a stroke while it's happening?
Dr. Chovaz: The acronym a lot of people had heard was the FAST. So you know, if you see any facial droop, blurred speech, arm weakness, you know that's what people were looking for. And now we actually do a B FAST one cause we want to make sure people know that balance or dizziness. That can be a sign of a stroke as well. So anything, you know, that kind of thick tongue speech is a lot of times how people describe it or a hard time getting words out. You know, you know what you want to say, but you can't. That's all it goes in the speech realm.
Host: So when would be the point to come to a hospital or call EMS?
Dr. Chovaz: The moment you start noticing any of these. So you're kind of like we say with heart and if you're having a heart attack, time is muscle. Get to the hospital right away. Think of it as the same thing. You know, time is brain. So the sooner that you can get to the hospital and we can get treatment started, and looking into this, the better off that our outcomes we're going to have. So once you recognize some of these symptoms or you recognize them in a loved one, calling 911, and getting them out there is the best plan.
Host: Tell us what's going on now in the community now, should a patient who is having stroke symptoms come to the hospital during COVID-19?
Dr. Chovaz: Yes. So stroke is still an emergency. So we are still here treating all the emergencies along with the COVID-19. So if someone starts to have symptoms of a stroke, you know, I would recommend a call 911 and get to the hospital if they're a hundred percent against that, at least talk to your doctor who knows you. But I think they're going to recommend you come to the hospital as well because this is absolutely a life threatening or life changing disease that we do have treatments for. So come to the hospital early and we can evaluate it.
Host: Dr. Chovaz, is there anything else that you want to add either about the certification or stroke care in general at Outer Banks Hospital?
Dr. Chovaz: Yeah, again, recognizing that the team and the effort that everyone's put in for it, I mean it is a big deal. A lot of people put a lot of time and effort to it and it just shows, you know, what people are willing to jump up and do. I think the quality of care, you know, the care that you're getting here for your stroke is the same care that you're going to get at any you know, acute stroke ready hospital. We are definitely in line with the best practices for treatment and the best practice guidelines and all of that. And the work that folks have done to make that happen is just phenomenal.
Host: Well, thank you for your time and for this vital information, Dr. Chovaz. And congratulations on certification. If you are experiencing symptoms of a stroke, please call 911. And if you enjoyed this episode, you can find more like it in our podcast library and be sure to share this episode on all your social channels. This is Outer Banks Health. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Thank you for joining us.