Message from President & CEO Debbie Sevenpifer

Debbie Sevenpifer,
President and Chief Executive Officer

How we’re improving stroke care

The facts are surprising – every 10 minutes someone in Canada has a stroke. There are 50,000 strokes occurring each year, and more than 300,000 people are still feeling the effects.

A decade ago, a national strategy was developed, urging the provinces to develop comprehensive stroke management programs. Today, the Ontario Stroke Network has a simple mission statement – Fewer strokes. Better outcomes – and in Niagara, the District Stroke Centre at Greater Niagara General Site has been growing since 2003.

From public awareness to a co-ordinated stroke recovery support program, District Stroke Centre efforts are all geared to improving care for patients who have an acute stroke or mini-stroke (called transient ischemic attack or TIA). In 2009, Niagara Health treated 750 strokes and TIAs and on any given day, eight to 10 stroke patients, appropriate for an acute stroke unit, are in an acute care bed at our sites.

Delivering stroke care begins when a 911 call is made and continues long past the patient’s discharge from hospital. This stroke care continuum must be integrated for patients to have sustainable outcomes.

We’re thrilled to be opening in May the final piece of that continuum – an acute stroke unit with 10 beds in newly renovated space at Greater Niagara General Site. The inpatient stroke unit in Niagara Falls will serve the entire region, building on the excellent teamwork already in place.

The concept of clustering patients with similar conditions and having a specialized team deliver co-ordinated treatment is a cornerstone of our Hospital Improvement Plan (HIP). The opening of the Regional Acute Stroke Unit has been a key component of the HIP, now in the second year of its implementation. Staff members have taken extensive training, and renovations are complete. Patient rooms have fully accessible washrooms, separate sinks in each room for better infection control, ceiling-mounted patient lifts, and cabling for video consultation with regional and provincial partners.

The whole stroke team will work together to provide bedside care and improve the way we deliver stroke care:

Hospitalist (physician providing care to inpatients whose family doctor doesn’t have hospital privileges or inpatients without a family doctor)

• Clinical Nutrition
• Discharge Planning
• Occupational Therapy Neurologist (physician specialist in brain function)
• Physiotherapy
• Physiatrist (physician specialist in physical rehabilitation)
• Speech Language Pathology
• Nursing (includes Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse, Registered Practical Nurse)
• Pastoral Care
• Social Work

On a personal note, and on behalf of all Niagara residents, I extend a heartfelt thank you to those in our organization who embraced a vision for enhanced stroke care and have advocated and worked tirelessly to make the vision a reality. They are Dr. Don Chew, Su Bolibruck, Leanne Hammond and Marie Rusnak.

Congratulations on this achievement!  «