Grinnell Regional Medical Center has partnered with the
University of Iowa Stroke Center to launch a mobile stroke detection robotic
unit in GRMC’s emergency department for faster diagnosis of strokes. GRMC staff completed the training on the stroke
robot and took the unit live on Wednesday, Aug. 28. This is the second unit
that the University of Iowa Health Care has placed in Iowa rural hospitals.
During a stroke, which occurs when the blood supply to
the brain is interrupted by a blood clot or hemorrhage, every second matters.
When a patient comes to GRMC now with symptoms of a stroke, the wireless remote
presence robot will be rolled into the emergency bay to assess the patient. This
immediately connects the patients with a neurologist and neurological
diagnostic equipment at UI Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City to examine and
diagnose a stroke within minutes.
“The ability of
GRMC to connect patients to the University of Iowa stroke team enhances the
quality of care that we can bring to our residents,” says Doris Rindels, GRMC
assistant vice president. “Recovery from a stroke greatly improves when medical
attention can be administered at early onset. Minutes really do matter.”
“Accurate diagnosis of a stroke and timely treatment
is paramount to improved patient outcomes, but rural communities in Iowa often
lack neurology specialty care in the emergency department, especially 24-7, to
treat a stroke,” says Harold Adams, MD, UI professor of neurology and director
of the UI Comprehensive Stroke Center. “The stroke robot allows us to conduct a
full diagnostic exam on the patient and gather all the clinical information we
need to more accurately advise our emergency room colleagues in Grinnell and
provide excellent care for the patient.”
GRMC’s emergency department is staffed 24-7 with a
physician and trauma certified staff. Once a patient is connected to the stroke
robot, a UI neurology specialist controls the wireless robot and communicates
with the patient and GRMC’s emergency staff through a two-way video
conferencing unit. Using the robot’s advanced monitors, camera, and
microphones, the patient speaks directly to the UI neurologist. The neurologist
gathers information about the symptoms, and the patient’s physical movements
and responses.
Based on the information gathered, the UI neurologist
and the GRMC physician discuss a treatment plan. If the symptoms indicate that
the individual is having a stroke, then a clot-busting medication, called t-PA,
can be given within three to four hours from the beginning of the stroke
symptoms. Depending on the timing and severity of the stroke, the patient may
be admitted to GRMC or may be transferred to UI Hospitals and Clinics or another
tertiary hospital for further advanced care. The UI Stroke Center was recently
named Iowa's first Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and the
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The center was one of
only 35 such centers nationwide to receive the designation.
“This is a wonderful technological advancement at GRMC
that will benefit patients, yet doesn’t add cost,” Rindels says. “We’re very
excited to be working with the University of Iowa Stroke Center to bring this
diagnostic capability to our patients.”
GRMC currently utilizes telemedicine in the intensive
care unit, with an eICU monitoring unit that connects GRMC’s critical care unit
with physicians at Saint Luke’s Health System – eICU Center in Kansas City. It
works similar to the UI Health Care stroke robot, allowing advanced specialists
to directly interact with patients in GRMC.
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