Components of the St. Joseph Hospital Stroke Program include:
- Emergency services, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and able to respond immediately when a stroke is suspected.
- A Stroke Program RN coordinator, who monitors the care of every stroke patient in the hospital, helps assure seamless care through discharge and beyond, and facilitates community awareness regarding stroke.
- Physician specialists, including neurologists, neurointerventional radiologists, neurosurgeons and vascular surgeons.
- Evidence-based protocols for quick and capable response following guidelines established by the American Stroke Association.
- On-site clot-busting medications (tPA) available for administration as indicated. Through clinical trials at St. Joseph Hospital more than 10 years ago, patients here were the first in Orange County to receive new clot-busting medications.
- Leading edge procedures such as clipping, coiling, stenting and mechanical thrombectomies
- Nursing care on the Medical Telemetry and Critical Care Units by nurses who have special training and education in stroke management and have earned Magnet status - the highest honor bestowed for nursing excellence.
- Rehabilitation services by physical, occupational and speech therapists that begins while the patient is hospitalized and continues on an outpatient basis.
- Screening programs to detect stroke risk, and identify specific preventive measures before a stroke occurs.
St. Joseph Hospital is proud to serve as the exclusive Orange County hospital participant in this proactive program of the American Heart Association and its division, the American Stroke Association. The Heart of Your Community designation signals St. Joseph Hospital's major commitment to saving lives and preventing long-term disability from heart disease and stroke in Orange County's residents.