For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — World Stroke Day is Oct. 29. Worldwide, 15 million people suffer a stroke each year.

Effective stroke care requires fast action. Aspirus Riverview Hospital in Wisconsin Rapids was recently recognized for achieving the fastest door-to-imaging time of two minutes for stroke patients for the second quarter of 2018 by the Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program. The national benchmark of door-to-imaging, based on the American Heart and American Stroke Association, is 25 minutes. Aspirus Riverview shares this honor with just one other of the 48 Wisconsin champion hospitals participating in the Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program.

“We are very proud to offer outstanding stroke care to the residents of our community as one of the first certified Stroke Ready Hospitals in Wisconsin,” said Todd Burch, Chief Executive Officer of Aspirus Riverview Hospital & Clinics. “This latest achievement is just one example of our staff’s continuing commitment to provide exceptional stroke care to our patients.”

The Stroke Team at Aspirus Riverview Hospital was formed in Jan. 2015 and has worked diligently to develop care protocols and processes to improve care for acute stroke patients. Our team of experts utilized the Lean Six Sigma ™ methodology to streamline how care is delivered with the goal to increase efficiency and expedite treatment. These efforts have led to Aspirus Riverview Hospital’s achievement of a two-minute door-to-imaging time.

Aspirus Riverview Hospital was also recognized for 100 percent EMS notification vs. the state average of 59 percent, for the second quarter of 2018. “We would like to thank our EMS partners and our community of dedicated health care professionals,” said Burch, “An achievement such as this requires the entire care team working seamlessly together to provide the right care for the patient and their family.”

Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

This summer, Aspirus Wausau Hospital achieved Primary Stroke Center Certification. The strong partnership between Aspirus Riverview Hospital and Aspirus Wausau Hospital is ensuring that the residents of our area receive stroke identification and treatment that is recognized as among the best in the state.