Collaborative Program Aims to Reduce Stroke Disability and Death Rates in the Southeastern United States

ATLANTA, GA, USA, May 8, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The innovative Marcus Stroke Network will soon expand lifesaving stroke treatment to the Southeastern U.S.. The Atlanta-based partnership is a collaboration between Emory University School of Medicine, Grady Health System, Boca Raton Regional Hospital and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The partnership features a unique model, with two Comprehensive Stroke Centers, the region’s first Mobile Stroke Unit and REACH Health’s advanced telemedicine system, all focused on serving both rural and urban patients.

Funded by a $15 million donation from The Marcus Foundation, the Marcus Stroke Network aims to:
 Extend the world-renowned stroke expertise of the Marcus Stroke Network physician team by using innovative telemedicine technology to aggressively accelerate early and definitive stroke treatment to patients in the Southeastern U.S.
 Leverage the region’s first Mobile Stroke Unit, a specialized ambulance equipped with a CT scanner and telestroke capabilities, to initiate lifesaving treatment for stroke patients before they reach the hospital
 Empower paramedics to provide pre-hospital care to help with the diagnosis and triage of stroke patients to the nearest appropriate hospital, thereby optimizing treatment and community resources more effectively
 Improve the quality of care at participating Marcus Stroke Network hospitals and ensure long-term sustainability through a Regional Coordinated Stroke System of Care
 Implement the science-based quality and systems guidelines championed by the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association.

Despite steady improvements in access to treatment, stroke remains one of the top causes of death and disability. Because damage to brain tissue and resulting deficits tend to grow more severe the longer a stroke is untreated, rapid treatment is critical to saving lives and minimizing long-term deficits. The geography served by the Marcus Stroke Network is often referred to as the “stroke belt” due to the high incidence of the disease.

“Using a sophisticated telemedicine platform, our goal is to extend the proven expertise of our stroke specialists to participating hospitals, giving each and every stroke patient in the areas serviced by our network partners the best chance of survival and living an independent life,” said Marcus Stroke Network director Michael Frankel, MD, professor & director of vascular neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, chief of neurology and director of Grady’s Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center. “This leading-edge program will create a results-oriented decision support system driven by technology, real-time outcomes, and scalable solutions.”

“We are honored to support the broad scale, life-saving initiatives of the Marcus Stroke Network,” said Steve McGraw, President and CEO of REACH Health. “The REACH 5.0 telemedicine platform was designed to emphasize guidelines-based care, and it has been proven to reduce treatment times and improve treatment rates in peer-reviewed studies. It is uniquely suited to supporting the objectives of the Marcus Stroke Network and their partner hospitals throughout the region.”

For more information on the Marcus Stroke Network, please visit: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/marcus-foundation-15-million-gift-will-create-marcus-stroke-network-an-innovative-partnership-among-leading-health-groups.

About REACH Health
REACH Health, who recently entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by InTouch Health, provides enterprise telemedicine systems for multiple specialties and settings of care, all supported on a common software platform. The REACH 5.0 platform and REACH Clinical Widget® Applications are recognized for fostering collaboration between bedside clinicians and remote specialists through shared clinical workflows. The system is highly configurable, enabling physicians to tailor each consultation based on personal preferences and specialty-specific exams, clinical scales and patient data.

Through InTouch Health’s acquisition of REACH Health, health systems will benefit from the combined strengths of the two organizations with enhanced support, reliability, security, and compliance. Additionally, InTouch Health has a broader offering with virtual care solutions not only in emergent care, but also in post-acute, ambulatory, and direct-to-consumer on-demand care. The merging of these two companies will allow REACH Health customers to pursue their plans to expand their telehealth services leveraging a fully integrated virtual care platform.

Media Contact
Andrew Saluke
andrew.saluke@reachhealth.com
678-942-6752

Andrew Saluke
REACH Health
6789426752
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