Stroke center designation means that care for stroke
patients at OGH meets strict guidelines as prescribed by the Department of
Health. In order to receive stroke center designation, the hospital was
required to demonstrate adherence to precise treatment protocols, which begin
with emergency medical service (EMS) providers, to emergency department
treatment and continue through patients’ entire stay, including discharge.
“The initiative to become a designated stroke center is part
of OGH’s overall effort to provide the safest and highest quality care
possible,” said Timothy Finan, president and CEO, Upper Allegheny Health
System. “It is imperative that our stroke patients receive evidence-based care
and treatment in the most timely fashion,” he said.
“The collaboration
and support of our EMS partners, including Southern Tier Health Care System,
were instrumental in the hospital’s receipt of this important designation,”
Finan said.
“Time is the critical factor in successfully treating stroke
patients, said Vaijayantee Belle, MD, neurologist and medical director of the
Stroke Center, OGH. “The quicker patients are seen and treated for stroke, the
better the chances for recovery. As clinicians say, ‘time is brain,’” Dr. Belle
said. “In treating stroke, minutes, even
seconds, count.”
“The Stroke Center at Olean General Hospital provides
immediate stroke care by staff who have trained specifically to care for stroke
patients,” said Denise O’Neil, RN, director of the Stroke Center. “The
clinicians on the stroke care team at OGH have undergone specialized training,
which includes identification of the appropriate level of stroke care directed
by neurologists and neurosurgeons,” she said.
In addition, the OGH Stroke Center is directly linked to the
only comprehensive stroke care center in Western New York, Kaleida Health’s
Gates Vascular Institute. Because time is a critical factor in the treatment
and recovery of strokes, this relationship allows enhanced consultation and
diagnosis for patients at OGH from the region’s leading neurologists and
neurosurgeons. When necessary, an expeditious transfer to the Gates Vascular
Institute can be implemented in a seamless manner.
Upper Allegheny Health System is the parent company of
Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital, members of Kaleida
Health, Buffalo. An integration of two prominent community hospitals in
Southwestern New York state and Northwestern Pennsylvania, Upper Allegheny
Health System’s goal is the enhancement of each hospital’s mission of care and
service to their respective communities with the common goal of improving care,
enhancing clinical programs and providing best-in-class service for various
health needs.
