Advanced Stroke Assessment en Route to the ER Helps Patient Get the Care he Needs, Quickly

Dora Wrentmore was cooking kielbasa and sauerkraut for her family’s Easter celebration when her husband’s vision went dark in one eye. That was the first warning sign. Minutes later, when he went to take a shower and she heard him repeatedly dropping the soap, she grew really concerned. She went into the bathroom to find her 72-year-old husband leaning, his mouth drooped and his speech slurred. Immediately, she called 9-1-1.

The North Royalton Fire Department arrived quickly and recommended bringing David Wrentmore to UH Parma Medical Center, designated among the Gold Plus Honor Roll Elite by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. They are the second department trained by UH to administer the more detailed Miami Emergency Neurologic Deficit (MEND) exam, which can be performed in three minutes yet yields critical information. The City of Parma was the first in the state – as featured in UH’s 2016 Annual Report – to train all of its paramedics to conduct advanced stroke assessments and utilize iPads to livestream their screening to the ER. Advanced Stroke Life Support (ASLS) helps paramedics and the ER physician pinpoint severity and location of the stroke in a patient’s brain.

“I cannot say enough for this team,” says David Wrentmore, counting down to his discharge from UH Parma’s Acute Rehabilitation Unit. Jeffrey Boyko, DO, performed an endarterectomy to clear the blocked carotid artery that caused David’s stroke. “I’m motivated to go home, and I owe it to all of them. Every person we’ve interacted with has been just wonderful. I’m so glad we didn’t go out of town that weekend!”