Monday, March 14, 2011
Pembroke Regional Hospital Establishing Stroke Prevention Clinic
PEMBROKE – The Pembroke Regional Hospital is pleased to announce the launch of a new stroke prevention clinic which will help some of Renfrew County’s stroke victims avoid hospitalization and prevent another stroke from happening.
Starting March 14, the Pembroke Regional Hospital’s District Stroke Centre will run the clinic five half-days per week under the leadership of Dr. Debbie Timpson, the Hospital’s physiatrist who has a real interest in stroke care.
The clinic will be best suited for Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) patients or those who have had very mild strokes with no lasting permanent effects. Referrals to the clinic will be made by a family physician or through a hospital’s emergency department.
“The Pembroke Regional Hospital is very pleased to be able to offer this new service within our region,” said Hospital President and CEO Pierre Noel.
“We have been a designated District Stroke Centre since September, 2005 and stroke prevention through a clinic like this is one of the most effective ways to prevent stroke from happening,” he said.
Dr. Timpson said patients who are referred to the clinic will be triaged and given rapid access to diagnostic services, health assessment, diagnosis and treatment.
“Having this clinic in our region will be an important tool that will complement the work of the family physician,” Dr. Timpson said, noting that all diagnostic results as well as the individual’s treatment plan will be sent back to the family physician.
Referrals to other services such as neurology, neurosurgery, the dietitian, the diabetes clinic, cardiovascular rehabilitation, and smoking cessation among others may also be made if appropriate.
“A large component of the clinic also involves patient and family education in terms of learning about the warning signs of a stroke, identifying risk factors and learning how best to make lifestyle modifications. All of this combined are consistent with best practice ways to prevent stroke from repeating,” Dr. Timpson said.
In order to be able to offer standardized treatment practices, clinic staff have been trained at The Ottawa Hospital’s Regional Stroke Centre, and while the launch of the clinic is expected to be gradual, it is anticipated that when ramped up, there may be as many as 246 referrals to the clinic annually.
Funding for the clinic was made available last year when the need for more stroke prevention in this part of the province was identified by the Champlain Stroke Steering Committee. Another clinic is being established in Cornwall, and existing clinics are located in Ottawa and Hawkesbury.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Carolyn Levesque, Public Affairs and Communications Coordinator
Pembroke Regional Hospital
(613) 732-3675, ext. 6165 / carolyn.levesque@pemreghos.org
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