St. Dominic's Comprehensive Stroke Center

St. Dominic’s Tele-stroke program connects St. Dominic’s neurologists to patients in St. Dominic’s emergency department and to patients in outlying hospitals’ emergency departments using a telemedicine cart and laptop connections. Neurologists are able to quickly and efficiently provide a diagnosis and best treatment options using the technology.

The level of recovery from strokes is often greatly impacted by what action is taken in the first few hours after a stroke is discovered. With telemedicine, a suspected stroke patient can be seen by a specialist and receive an initial treatment at the community hospital long before he or she could have been transported directly to St. Dominic’s.

St. Dominic’s is currently partnered with six Mississippi hospitals as part of its tele-stroke program:

• Copiah County Medical Center in Hazelhurst
• Greenwood Leflore Hospital in Greenwood
• Neshoba General in Philadelphia
• Magee General Hospital in Magee
• Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville
• Southwest Regional Medical Center in McComb

When a Stroke Strikes, BE FAST and Visit the ER

Seconds count when it comes to a stroke, so recognizing symptoms and acting fast are crucial. This simple guide can save lives:

Prevention and education are pivotal to stroke patients’ recovery. Time is critical during a stroke, so we urge everyone to learn the signs of a stroke and B-E F-A-S-T (Balance, Eyesight, Face, Arm, Speech, Time):

• Balance Issues
  Is the person having loss of coordination, trouble walking or dizziness?
• Eyesight Changes
  Is the person having double vision or any trouble seeing?
• Face Drooping
  Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile.
• Arm Weakness
  Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to raise both arms.
• Speech Difficulty
  Does their speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase.
• Time
  If you observe any of these signs, call 911 and get to the emergency room.

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Heavy alcohol use
• Physical inactivity and obesity
• Atrial fibrillation
• Family history of stroke

Why is Measuring Stroke Treatment Results Important?

IV TPA (clot-busting medication) is the Gold Standard of stroke care, as it is the only approved medication that can potentially reverse the effects of stroke. The most common and concerning complication of the medicine is bleeding in the brain, also known as hemorrhagic transformation. St. Dominic’s providers are very careful when selecting patients who are eligible to receive the IV TPA. Therefore, St. Dominic’s complication rates are significantly lower than the national average.

St. Dominic’s is also able to treat stroke through a very advanced procedure called Mechanical Endovascular Reperfusion Therapy. The most common concerning complication of this procedure is bleeding in the brain, also known as hemorrhagic transformation. St. Dominic’s providers are highly skilled and have demonstrated great success in performing these procedures. Therefore, St. Dominic’s complication rates are significantly lower than the national average.

St. Dominic’s was the first hospital in Mississippi to be named an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.

• Stroke Quality Metrics 2022
• Stroke Quality Metrics 2021
• Stroke Quality Metrics 2020
• Stroke Quality Metrics 2019
• Stroke Quality Metrics 2018
• Stroke Quality Metrics 2017
• Stroke Quality Metrics 2016