SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Emergency care for stroke victims now is available to a wider range of patients across the region.
Lehigh Valley Health Network’s mobile stroke unit has teamed up with a Berks County ambulance company to expand its reach, the agencies announced Wednesday.
- The mobile stroke unit at Lehigh Valley Health Network is expanding its reach with a new partnership
- The specialized ambulance now will assist first responders in part of Berks County with neurological emergencies
- It will serve a more-than-400-square-mile area from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
LVHN’s mobile stroke unit is among only 20 specialized ambulances across the country able to treat patients suffering from neurological emergencies.
“It's really a neurological emergency room on wheels," Mobile Stroke Unit Program Director Kenneth Reichenbach said.
"So while we're traveling sometimes a greater distance to get to a patient, once the patient is in a mobile stroke unit, really, we can do everything that can be done in the emergency room.”
Dispatched at the same time
Reichenbach's team works in conjunction with the Northern Valley, Cetronia, Macungie and Boyertown ambulance companies, and now the newest partner, Topton Ambulance in Berks County.
“Having quicker access to world-class stroke care is a great tool for us to have to support the communities we serve. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the stroke unit.”Topton Ambulance Chief and Executive Director Michael Richards
“Having quicker access to world-class stroke care is a great tool for us to have to support the communities we serve,” Topton Ambulance Chief and Executive Director Michael Richards said.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the stroke unit.”
The Berks County company serves about 4,200 people in Topton, Lyons and Longswamp, Rockland, Maxatawny and District townships.
Reichenbach explained that his team is dispatched along with the partnering ambulance company.
"When a call comes in to the 911 Center, we are simultaneously dispatched with another EMS agency,” he said.
“So if a patient in the Topton coverage area would have stroke-like symptoms, and they would call 911 during our hours of operation, we will be dispatched at the same time as that Topton ambulance will be responding to the call, and then we would meet up with them to evaluate the patient.”
Every minute counts
What makes the unit different from a typical ambulance is the equipment and medication on board. The mobile stroke unit team is able to connect via video with LVHN doctors who then can assess the patient on the spot.
“We have the ability to initiate, evaluate and then initiate treatment based on that patient's presentation," Reichenbach said.
"We have the advanced drugs to start the clot busting medication if the patient's having an ischemic stroke or though or the type that there's a blockage in an artery. Those strokes are about 80 to 85 percent of the population."
"That’s why time is brain and why these partnerships are so beneficial.”Kenneth Reichenbach, program director, LVHN Mobile Stroke Unit
When it comes to a stroke, every minute counts, so the program director said the faster his team can administer medication, the better the outcome will be.
So even if the patient is a great distance away, it still could be life saving for the unit to respond to the scene or meet the other ambulance on the way to a comprehensive stroke center.
“The faster a stroke patient gets treatment, the better the outcome,” Reichenbach said. “That’s why time is brain and why these partnerships are so beneficial.”
LVHN’s mobile stroke unit serves a more-than-400-square-mile area from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
