Baystate Medical Center offers an inpatient specialty neurosciences unit and the region’s only neurointerventional laboratory, available 24/7 for emergencies. This allows us to stop a stroke in its tracks in some cases.
Baystate Health believes in a patient-centered approach to stroke care that includes:
- An acute stroke care team with expertise in many neurological disciplines
- Doctors with experience in stroke diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation
- Established stroke intervention techniques to improve quality and patient outcomes
‘Time saved is brain saved’ in stroke cases. When you call 911, the Acute Stroke Team at Baystate is ready to act. The team includes neurosurgeons, neurologists, emergency physicians, radiologists, physiatrists, and other support staff, who are ready and waiting when you arrive.
Baystate Emergency Departments rely on fast communication with local EMS providers. Our partnership speeds up response at each stage of stroke care. We use the most advanced treatment options available, including:
- Neurointerventional procedures to remove the clot and restore blood flow
- Stent implantation to hold open a narrowed artery
- tPA therapy: a clot-busting medicine that works to dissolve the clot that has clogged an artery
Our advanced Telestroke Program allows us to provide the best possible stroke care to patients throughout western New England. If you come to any Baystate hospital with stroke symptoms, you have access to the same level of care offered at Baystate Medical Center.
Our team in Springfield uses a special computer, software, and monitor to work with the team at the local hospital. We work together to conduct a full evaluation, make a diagnosis, and begin treatment. If they decide you need further tests and treatments, you will be stabilized and transported quickly to Baystate Medical Center.
Our Telestroke Program hospitals include:
Once your initial treatment is complete, our neurological rehabilitation therapists partner with you to help you regain maximum function as soon as possible. Our physical, occupational, and speech and language therapists will develop a personalized plan with you.
Stroke-Related Disabilities We Treat
People can experience various disabilities after suffering a stroke. The damage depends on the part of the brain affected and the timing of the treatment. We aim to reduce lasting damage and improve function with faster treatments that restore blood flow to the brain.
Common disabilities after stroke include one or more of these symptoms:
- Loss of balance or coordination
- Speech loss
- Vision loss
- Weakness or numbness of one part of the body
In the long term, some people experience movement problems, pain, numbness, thinking problems, speaking problems, or memory loss. Some also have emotional problems and depression.
In addition to our specialized neurology team, you’ll experience personalized care from our support team, including:
- Case managers
- Chaplains
- Critical care specialists
- Emergency physicians
- Interventional neurosurgeons
- Neuroscience advanced practitioners
- Nurses
- Nutritionists
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- Occupational therapists
- Patient and family educators
- Physical medicine specialists
- Physical therapists
- Pharmacists
- Radiologists
- Social workers
- Speech and language therapists
- Stroke coordinator
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