Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister is on the cusp of bringing a new stroke program to its doors and providing more advanced care to stroke patients in San Benito County.
The program, which will begin in either May or June, was designed by the American Heart and American Stroke Associations and provides advanced training and education to doctors treating stroke patients, as well as other more formalized guidelines and procedures.
“It’s us stepping up our level of care for our patients,” said Frankie Gallagher, the director of marketing for the hospital.
Wendy Bell, the program’s coordinator for the hospital, said the guidelines for the program were written by well-known, renowned doctors.
She said the hospital is working with Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose to give Hazel Hawkins patients more advanced care if they need it.
“Formalizing the program means we have an agreement with the hospital that if we need to send a patient out, they will take our stroke patients,” Gallagher said.
She said for patients with minor strokes, they will be able to stay at Hazel Hawkins and get the same quality of care as doctors at Good Samaritan by using electronic communications, such as TeleMed, a form of video conferencing that allows doctors to evaluate patients from afar.
“It’s like Skyping,” Bell said. “They can physically see the patient and do a physical evaluation.”
Beyond the use of new technology, the program will also include community outreach and education efforts to keep the public informed about ways to prevent stroke and how to spot the signs of stroke.
“If they see what’s happening, they’ll come to the hospital,” Bell said.
The outreach will also include a new “Stroke Support Group” that was begun by the hospital and a stroke patient that meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m.
