News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville Regional Medical Center honored for ensuring stroke patients receive appropriate care.
The American Heart Association awarded Cookeville Regional “The Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.” Stroke Center Joint Commission Coordinator Randi Stafford said receiving the award reflects the hard work the Stroke Center staff puts into taking care of stroke patients. Stafford said the hospital has emphasized stroke patients as they saw over 800 cases of strokes in 2023.
“This area and the southeast in general has a large population of people who are at risk for stroke,” Stafford said. “Hypertension, obesity, smoking, diabetes, they all increase a person’s risk for a stroke.”
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and the top leading cause of disability in the United States. Stafford said the hospital is in a great location to help stroke patients get all the care they need in one spot.
“Prior to our certification, our patients were traveling to Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga to receive care,” Stafford said. “Now we can provide that care here at home. Patients are treated quickly, timely, and they get to remain close to home and close to their family.”
Stafford said out of the 800-plus patients, only 60 of them came to the hospital in time to receive medication for their stroke. Stafford said it is critical to recognize stroke symptoms early as the longer a patient waits the more damage that can be done to a patient’s brain.
“It’s timed from the onset of symptoms you only have about four hours to be able to come in and receive this medication,” Stafford said. “It’s important for people to know the signs of strokes and to recognize those signs, and then to come in and be treated quickly. Time is brain.”
Some early stroke signs are sudden changes in balance, dizziness, sudden vision changes, weakness that only affects one side of the body, and sudden changes in speech. Stafford said even Transient ischemic attack strokes are dangerous and patients still need to be seen. Stafford said the stroke center at Cookeville Regional can help a patient with the process from beginning to end.
