Spotlight
Lisa Beckerle
Strategic Marketing Manager

How long have you been working in this role?
7 years, 4 months

How does your role impact the stroke program?
Some of the programs implemented over the years I am most proud of is the Next Step Stroke Series with ASF, our “Stroke Stops Here” campaign, sponsorship activation at various community events, ongoing outreach to local employee partners and Stroke Awareness Day at the K.

Current and future marketing tactics drive more of the message around our expert team although we will always communicate stroke education to our community all year long. Current tactics in the works are revising our stroke web pages, enhancing SEO, NPR radio, social media campaign, and increasing internal communications to spread awareness of the amazing work our stroke team does to our own health system employees. We will be kicking off Season 2 of All Things Heart on 9/8th with a stroke patient and their journey. Mark your calendars and Save the Date! The show runs live on Facebook on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

If you could witness any historical event, what would you want to see?
July 1969, man on the moon!!

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see cast as you?
Sandra Bullock. I love how down to earth she is despite her fame. She has also been recognized as one of the most influential people in the world.

Anything else you would like to add?
Just a reminder to follow our hospital social channels so you can catch our daily episodes of MMU, Thursday episodes of All things Heart, patient stories and program highlights. 
Sharks Don't Sleep
Fact of the Month
Your brain is made up of ~ 86 billion neurons, while our observable universe is composed of at least 100 billion galaxies. Although these systems are incredibly different from the naked eye, they become increasingly similar when observed through microscopic and telescopic techniques. Within both systems, only 30% of their masses are made up of galaxies/neurons, and 70% of this mass / energy is composed of things playing apparently passive roles (e.g., water, dark energy). 

In 2020, an astrophysicist and neurosurgeon paired up “to investigate [these] similarities between the network of neuronal cells in the human brain, and the cosmic network of galaxies.” The hope to continue this research in the future to better understand our bodies and the universe around us.
Brain Teaser
DON'T FORGET, every month, everyone who correctly answers the quiz question will be entered in a drawing to win a $10 coffee shop gift card! Seems like an easy way to stay caffeinated during those particularly exhausting shifts.
What's New?
Checkout the updated 2023 Comprehensive Stroke Center Resident Handbook. It's chock-full of useful info!

The stroke specific modules in Helix (AKA Hemispheres) have updated from version 2.0 to 3.0 (version 2.0 is no long available). Some of the titles have changed, and they have added several new module options (click here to view the descriptions of each module). If you are looking to complete NIHSS, in Helix search for “2022 Hemispheres 3.0 Level 10.”

Neurology & Neurosurgery have come in as #28 program in the nation, ranking in the top 50 for the 11th year running. Furthermore, the Stroke Program has ranked as 'High Performing' for the 2nd time (last year was the first year this award was offered). Check these results out on the U.S. News & World Reports.
Links Land
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The American Stroke Foundation Stroke Walk N Roll is next month September 10th! Don’t forget to sign up to show your support to this local resource for Stroke Survivors!

Join us via Zoom for our monthly Kansas Initiative for Stroke Survival (KISS) First Tuesday’s Stroke Education Series. Each month at 12:00 PM, Vascular Neurologist, Dr. Sabreena Slavin will give a 30 - minute presentation regarding stroke and the care surrounding it.  

Join the ASF Education Series on July 6th from 11:00 AM - noon. Details here!

Attend TUKHS Bistate Stroke Offering October 14th 

Our Virtual and In-Person Stroke Support Group takes place the 3rd Wednesday of every month at our health system’s Acute Inpatient Rehab facility - 2nd Fl. This will be another resource for those patients and community who have suffered from a stroke. 
Case of the Month
**Some details changed to protect patient identity but kept within same risk profile***

Background74 YO male with a history of HTN, Afib treated with Xarelto (not an IV thrombolytic candidate), & HLD. He presented to an outside hospital (OSH) following sudden onset of left sided weakness and slurred speech. NIHSS upon arrival to OSH = 17. CTA showed right M1 occlusion & CTP showed a large penumbra. Following imaging, pt was transferred to TUKHS for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). He was taken to IR immediately upon arrival to TUKHS (NIHSS at this time = 5):
For more information on reading imaging, this is a great presentation: Click Here!
 
Intervention: The patient was taken to Interventional Radiology for emergent endovascular treatment immediately . From the time of arrival, it only took 41 min for the interventionalist to reach the clot with their devices...well under the Door to Device goal time of 70 min. The procedure resulted in the compete reperfusion of his right MCA artery following aspiration.
Outcome: The patient was admitted to the Neuro ICU for post procedure monitoring. Later, MRI imaging showed no residual right MCA stroke…there was an incidental finding of a punctate right occipital stroke, potentially due to embolic phenomenon. 
 Xarelto was transitioned to Eliquis, and he was discharged home at baseline functioning 2 days after being admitted (Discharge NIHSS = 0).
The Fast & the Furious!
Congratulations to team members who achieved the below fastest intervention times!!!
Your opinions matter! Please complete the BE FAST Survey and share your recent experience with a stroke intervention and/or activation. To provide other general feedback please email us.
Social Media Highlight!
If you are in need of a mental break, pause and take 1 minute to watch this sweet video of literally the cutest bunny on the planet. This is not just an opinion but an actual scientific fact. His name is Coconut (coconut_fluffyears_bunny) and he has over 70,000 Instagram followers. He effortlessly brings smiles to thousands of people around the world!