Providence Launches Oregon’s First Telestroke Network

August 24, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. — It will be faster than an ambulance, swifter than an emergency helicopter. Neurologists with Providence Stroke Center soon will be able to help diagnose and treat stroke patients in community hospitals throughout Oregon using two-way video cameras over a secure Internet connection. Providence Stroke Center, a premier program within Providence Brain Institute, is launching Oregon’s first “telestroke” network, enabling stroke neurologists to perform comprehensive evaluations via teleconference.

The telestroke network will allow physicians in smaller towns to use real-time Web video streaming to consult with Providence Stroke Center neurologists in Portland as soon as a patient arrives at the community hospital. A Providence stroke neurologist will be able to review patient information, and examine and talk with the patient, family members and the local clinicians to help determine the best course of treatment.

“This will dramatically improve the treatment and outcome for stroke patients living in Oregon’s rural communities,” said Bonnie W. Smith, administrator of Providence Brain Institute. “Once a patient has a stroke, every second counts. If we can share our expertise in real time to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatments, we can eliminate unneeded travel time to transfer patients between rural communities and Portland.”

The telestroke network is especially important in Oregon. For unknown reasons, residents are at higher risk for stroke mortality than people living in most other states. Oregon has the fifth highest stroke death rate in the country.

Providence Stroke Center, a nationally certified Primary Stroke Center, has a team of experts available to treat patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Providence stroke team includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neurointerventionalists, radiologists, nurses and therapists who work to quickly diagnose patients and use the most technically advanced methods to remove clots, repair broken arteries that cause strokes, and restore blood flow to the brain.

Providence Brain Institute plans to begin treating patients using the telestroke network later this year.