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Lenoir Hospital Receives Grant for Stroke Awareness

A grant will allow Lenoir Memorial Hospital to become a primary stroke center.

By John Fuller on August 27, 2014

Time is brain, and every second counts when someone is suffering a stroke.

Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston has received a $268,852 grant from The Duke Endowment to conduct a three-year project to improve clinical practices for stroke care and awareness. The project will culminate with the Joint Commission designating LMH as a primary stroke center. Money is going toward several efforts, including a telestroke robot system that allows LMH to have 24/7 access to a stroke expert/vascular neurologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem.

“Our own doctors can consult with these specialists via robot technology and make rapid decisions about stroke care in order to save brain cells and improve outcomes,” says Constance E. Hengel, LMH director of community programming and development.

Other parts of The Duke Endowment grant allows LMH to link with several statewide stroke databases in order to improve patient outcomes, and an extensive community awareness campaign has been established to educate people about stroke signs. In addition, LMH will work with EMS paramedics during the program’s second year to coordinate home visits after stroke patients have been discharged, so patients can receive more education and resources.

“We can all take part in educating the community by talking to friends and family about stroke, using the FAST acronym – Face, Arm, Speech, Time,” says Dawn Becker, LMH stroke coordinator. “Call 911 if you see these symptoms: sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden severe headache, dizziness or confusion; or sudden difficulty with vision, balance or speech.”

The Duke Endowment is a Charlotte-based private foundation established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke.

Learn more about Lenoir Memorial Hospital’s health-care services and programs.

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