For patients suffering from a stroke, time can make the difference between recovery and possible disability or death. Thanks to the quick work of two Florence first responders last November, one stroke patient is on her way to recovery, according to Josh Cox, EMS outreach coordinator at St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
Cox visited the Jan. 28 Florence city council meeting to honor firefighter/EMT Ryan Johnston and firefighter/paramedic Christian Ritchie for their quick “door to needle” response time during an incident that occurred in November 2024.
St. Elizabeth Emergency Services and the American Heart Association are part of the national Target Stroke quality improvement initiative. The program focuses on reducing the time getting eligible stroke victims to a hospital for an injection of a clot-busting drug known as a thrombolytic.
“There is a continued focus to align efforts across the entire continuum, including EMS,” said Cox. “Best practices implemented throughout a system of care are key factors in optimizing outcomes for stroke patients, timely response, rapid identification and transport, pre-hospital notification and effective handoff communication from the field to the hospital are key links in the chain of survival for our stroke patients.”
Johnston and Ritchie were a part of the transport of a stroke patient that led to the fastest “door-to-needle” delivery of tenecteplase (a medication used to treat stroke) for St Elizabeth Healthcare in the whole month, Cox said.
The two also got an additional incentive (which gets them an extra “challenge coin” within the program) because the tenecteplase was administered within 30 minutes of their arrival at the scene.
“On behalf of St Elizabeth Healthcare and the American Heart Association, we’d like to recognize them for the exceptional care of this patient that led to the delivery of TPA or tenecteplase within 25 minutes of arrival at the Florence facility,” said Cox.
He presented Johnston and Ritchie with certificates, a brain pin and the challenge coin.
Cox noted the incident will be a part of a case study presented by a St. Elizabeth nurse educator next fall. For more on stroke care, see the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association website.
