Wende Fedder, RN
The Illinois House of Representatives and Senate unanimously passed a bill May 19 that could establish a statewide specialized stroke network and impact nurses around the state.
The Primary Stroke Center Designation Act, if signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, would allow ambulances to bypass nearby facilities in favor of primary stroke centers.
“This presents an opportunity for nurses to improve the quality of stroke care in their communities,” says Wende Fedder, RN, MBA, FAHA, clinical director of the Neuroscience Institute at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network in Elk Grove Village, Ill. “The proposed legislation is flexible. It allows [emergency medical services] and hospitals to collaborate on a regional basis regarding how stroke systems of care can be created to maximize the chance that stroke patients will be transported to certified stroke centers.”
Fedder has served on the Illinois Stroke Task Force and has attended sessions in Springfield, Ill., about the stroke legislation, known as House Bill 2244 and sponsored by Rep. Bob Biggins (R-Elmhurst).
Currently, 26 Illinois hospitals are designated by the Joint Commission as primary stroke centers, while eight facilities expect to receive the distinction within the next few months. An additional 12, according to Fedder, are preparing to apply for certification.
Similar stroke networks have been implemented in New York, Florida, and Massachusetts, as well as San Francisco, Houston, and Phoenix. In New York and Houston, use of the clot-dissolving drug tissue plasminogen activator doubled and tripled, respectively, after the launch of the statewide stroke networks.
If signed, the act will affect nurses in several ways, Fedder says.
Nurses will be called to develop hospital protocols, educate nurses and EMS on emergency stroke treatment, and to lead Joint Commission disease specific certification hospital teams for primary stroke center certification. Nurses also will be called to obtain expertise in cerebrovascular nursing assessment skills, including knowledge of the NIH stroke scale assessment tool and guidelines for acute stroke rescue.
A staffer in Biggins’ Springfield office said the Illinois legislature has 30 days to send the bill to Quinn, who in turn has 60 days to sign it.
The Primary Stroke Center Designation Act, if signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, would allow ambulances to bypass nearby facilities in favor of primary stroke centers.
“This presents an opportunity for nurses to improve the quality of stroke care in their communities,” says Wende Fedder, RN, MBA, FAHA, clinical director of the Neuroscience Institute at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network in Elk Grove Village, Ill. “The proposed legislation is flexible. It allows [emergency medical services] and hospitals to collaborate on a regional basis regarding how stroke systems of care can be created to maximize the chance that stroke patients will be transported to certified stroke centers.”
Fedder has served on the Illinois Stroke Task Force and has attended sessions in Springfield, Ill., about the stroke legislation, known as House Bill 2244 and sponsored by Rep. Bob Biggins (R-Elmhurst).
Currently, 26 Illinois hospitals are designated by the Joint Commission as primary stroke centers, while eight facilities expect to receive the distinction within the next few months. An additional 12, according to Fedder, are preparing to apply for certification.
Similar stroke networks have been implemented in New York, Florida, and Massachusetts, as well as San Francisco, Houston, and Phoenix. In New York and Houston, use of the clot-dissolving drug tissue plasminogen activator doubled and tripled, respectively, after the launch of the statewide stroke networks.
If signed, the act will affect nurses in several ways, Fedder says.
Nurses will be called to develop hospital protocols, educate nurses and EMS on emergency stroke treatment, and to lead Joint Commission disease specific certification hospital teams for primary stroke center certification. Nurses also will be called to obtain expertise in cerebrovascular nursing assessment skills, including knowledge of the NIH stroke scale assessment tool and guidelines for acute stroke rescue.
A staffer in Biggins’ Springfield office said the Illinois legislature has 30 days to send the bill to Quinn, who in turn has 60 days to sign it.
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