Talbot County Becomes Stroke Smart County Thanks To Work Of UM SRH Stroke Committee
UM SRH Leadership and Team Members present during the May 14 Talbot County Council meeting are, from left, front row: Tisha D. Thompson, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Regional Director, Emergency Services; Nicole Leonard, BSN, RN, Neuroscience Specialist/Stroke Coordinator; Talbot County Council Member Dave Stepp; Rena Sukhdeo Singh, MD, Medical Director, Primary Stroke Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton; Susan Lizewski, BSN, RN, ICU Nurse Manager; Danielle Wilson, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Interim Senior Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer, Director Patient Care Services Operations. From left, back row, standing, are: Talbot County Council Member Pete Lesher, Talbot County Council President Chuck Callahan, and Talbot County Council Members Lynn Mielke and Keasha N. Haythe.
Thanks to the hard work of UM Shore Regional Health's (UM SRH) Primary Stroke Center leadership, the Talbot County Council recently presented a proclamation to UM SRH Stroke Committee team members announcing Talbot County as a Stroke Smart County. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.
Rena Sukhdeo Singh, MD, Medical Director of the Primary Stroke Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and a neurologist with UM Shore Medical Group - Neurology and Sleep Medicine, has been working with the Talbot County Council to obtain this proclamation since early winter 2024. UM SRH and the Primary Stroke Center leadership team also hope to secure this designation for all five counties (Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot) served by UM SRH.
"The month of May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and it is an honor for Talbot County to become the first Stroke Smart County on the Eastern Shore," Dr. Sukhdeo Singh said. "Becoming a Stroke Smart County means that we, as a county, are making an effort to teach our community how to recognize a stroke and what to do about it. Fast recognition and treatment of a stroke is imperative to saving the brain and decreasing long-term disability."
The Primary Stroke Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton treated more than 400 stroke patients in 2023. Education surrounding stroke prevention and risk factors, stroke symptoms and signs, what to do in the event of a stroke, stroke rehabilitation and how to prevent future stroke events are at the core of the UM SRH Stroke Team's objectives.
"Everyone knows a least one family member or friend who has been affected by a stroke," Dr. Sukhdeo Singh said. "Our plan is to work to implement stroke education in school curriculums and disseminate information among nursing homes, community centers, churches and other places where our community members gather and get information."
Dr. Sukhdeo Singh thanked the council, the UM SRH Stroke Committee team and UM SRH leadership for their dedication to ensuring the health, education and wellness of our communities. "It is with our Shore Regional Health Stroke Team and our leadership's efforts that we are able to provide quality treatment, education and support to our patients.”
"We just want to thank the Talbot County Council for their support of this proclamation," said UM SRH's Stroke Coordinator, Nicole Leonard, BSN, RN. "Stroke is a disease that can be very devastating. Our goal is always prevention first, but if someone develops stroke symptoms, we want to make sure they are able to recognize it right away and get the treatment that they need."
UM Shore Medical Center at Easton is a designated Primary Stroke Center by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS), earning re-designation in 2022. A Primary Stroke Center designation is given by MIEMSS when standards are met to support better outcomes for stroke care.
Certification standards include having a dedicated program staffed 24/7 by specially trained medical professionals who provide fast diagnostic services and optimal stroke care. MIEMSS defines a Primary Stroke Center as a facility able to care for patients with acute ischemic stroke through rapid assessment and imaging and the ability to administer intravenous thrombolytic therapy. The facility also must have infrastructure to manage acute stroke patients and availability of an interdisciplinary team to meet the medical, recovery and social needs of stroke patients.
"This designation means that Shore Regional Health is able to provide the most evidenced-based stroke care, and we have the necessary personnel, infrastructure, expertise and protocols to rapidly diagnose and treat the patient, and then to either admit them or transfer them to the appropriate care that they need,” Leonard said. In 2023, 57 percent of patients arrived by ambulance, and 38 percent arrived within the time to receive acute stroke treatment. “Time is brain, and it is our goal to educate our communities on this as much as possible so that they get to the hospital as quickly as possible. This proclamation enforces Shore Regional Health's commitment to that, and the county's commitment to that."
Talbot County Council Member Dave Stepp said, "It's a pleasure to do this for you all. As you mentioned, everyone knows someone that's been affected by a stroke. What you guys are doing there is absolutely awesome. Please keep up the great work and keep saving lives."
In 2023, the State of Maryland created the Maryland is a Stroke Smart State video highlighting the Stroke Smart initiative, which features Dr. Sukhdeo Singh and Caroline County EMS. There also is a resource page on the MIEMSS website where you can find more information: Stroke Smart Resource Center.