Stroke Continuum of Care Champions: Strategies from the Field

Executive Summary

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death, killing about 140,000 Americans annually. We propose to develop a roadmap of best practices/how-to guide for creating a stroke system of care, using information collected from current grantees of the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program (PCNASP). This product will provide state departments of health (SDoH) an incremental approach to leveraging resources to support a statewide stroke system of care – across the pre-, in-, and post-hospital settings. Through PCNASP we address improving the quality of care patients receive using a continuum of care approach – directly engaging EMS providers, nurses, physicians, national stroke organizations and post-hospital providers. Reduced time to treatment, increased percentage of patients that receive care, improved transitions of care from EMS to hospital and hospital to home, and reduced hospital readmissions are just a few of the benefits that such innovations may be able to achieve. Through the roadmap developed by the Stroke Continuum of Care Champions team, we hope to reach SDoH across the country (only 9 currently funded) that are interested in establishing an integrated stroke system of care. States can use this roadmap to adapt strategies for improving care that are relevant to their setting and priorities.

Team Members

Erika Odom (team lead), CDC
Sallyann Coleman King, CDC
Amena Abbas, CDC
Jacquie Dozier, CDC
Hannah Foster, CDC
Kincaid Lowe, CDC
Lisa Cooper, CDC
Ashley Marshall, CDC

Milestones

October 2018: Project selected into the HHS Ignite Accelerator
June 2019: Time in Accelerator Began
September 2019: Time in Accelerator Ended