Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute awarded highest stroke designation under new Missouri law

Missouri Time Critical Diagnosis law is first in U.S. to designate hospitals where stroke patients must be taken by emergency personnel

During a stroke, every second counts.  More than 1.8 million brain cells are lost every minute, so the sooner a patient receives treatment for stroke, the better the chance for survival and prevention of long-term disability.

However, sometimes the closest hospital is not the best hospital for a stroke patient’s time-critical needs. Today the state of Missouri became first in the nation to designate by law the hospitals to which stroke patients should be taken for treatment. No longer will this be determined solely by the patient’s geographical location. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the Missouri Foundation for Health and more than 400 health care and emergency medical professionals developed the state’s new Time Critical Diagnosis (TCD) system to help first responders identify which hospitals are equipped to treat time-critical stroke patients.

Under the new law, all Saint Luke’s hospitals in Missouri received TCD designations. Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute (SLMBNI) at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City has been awarded Level I – the highest level designation, which identifies Saint Luke’s ability to provide specialized care for the most complex stroke patients. This designation comes months after The Joint Commission awarded SLMBNI with Comprehensive Stroke Center designation, the highest stroke center designation in the nation.

Other Saint Luke’s hospitals in Missouri received the following TCD designations:

• Level II – Saint Luke’s East Hospital
• Level III – Saint Luke’s North Hospital, Hedrick Medical Center, and Wright Memorial Hospital

“This is a responsible move by the state of Missouri to ensure stroke patients receive the highest level of care in the shortest amount of time, allowing the best possibility of recovery and favorable long-term outcomes,” said Karin Olds, M.D., medical director of the Stroke Program at Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute. “For all Saint Luke’s Hospitals in Missouri to achieve TCD stroke center designation validates our core mission to provide the highest level of neurologic care to patients.”

The new TCD system designation levels reflect the depth and breadth of services at each hospital:

• Level I Centers provide the highest level of specialized care for the most complex stroke cases;
• Level II Centers provide specialized care to high volumes of patients and draw from a large geographic area;
• Level III Centers provide regional access to the TCD system and will refer patients to a higher level of specialized care, if needed;
• Level IV Centers provide TCD access in rural areas. Patients are stabilized and transferred to a higher level of care.

The new state law and guidelines go into effect for emergency medical providers today. Hospitals in Missouri voluntarily underwent review and designation to be considered as TCD Centers for stroke. Similar time-critical designations for STEMI and trauma will be forthcoming in 2016 and 2017.

More information on the state of Missouri’s TCD system is available by visiting:  health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/chronic/tcdsystem/.

About Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute

Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute, a member of Saint Luke’s Health System, is a global leader in utilizing both drug and mechanical interventions to block and reverse the permanent and debilitating effects of ischemic strokes. Its legacy of innovation began in 1993 when doctors performed one of the world’s first intra-arterial stroke reversal procedures. Since then, Saint Luke’s specialists have continued to pioneer new stroke treatments and reverse stroke’s debilitating effects for thousands of patients, and is one of the world’s most experienced and prolific leaders in the use of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) clot-busting medication for treatment of ischemic stroke. SLMBNI, headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., brings together a team of the country’s most accomplished neuroscience experts to provide a comprehensive treatment center for the most complex neurological issues, such as stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors, facial pain, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, headaches, aneurysms, and the latest in minimally invasive spinal surgical techniques. SLMBNI’s advancements in neurology have made it a national leader in neurological treatment and care.

Saint Luke’s Health System

Saint Luke’s Health System consists of 10 area hospitals and several primary and specialty care practices, and provides a range of inpatient, outpatient, and home care services. Founded as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, our mission includes a commitment to the highest levels of excellence in health care and the advancement of medical research and education. The health system is an aligned organization in which the physicians and hospitals assume responsibility for enhancing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of people in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the surrounding region.

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