One came earlier this year when a portion of the hospital's Neuro Intensive Care Unit was designated as the Memorial Hermann Stroke Treatment Center, the first such unit in Houston. According to Grotta, the Stroke Treatment Center is already showing results. Before the center opened, length of stay for stroke patients was approximately one week. Now, a few months later, length of stay for these patients generally is three days.
Length of stay is reduced, rehabilitation can begin much sooner and discharge occurs more quickly.
That's what a stroke center can do. Grotta says national statistics show that patients in designated Stroke Treatment Centers begin rehabilitation sooner than patients who are not treated in a designated center. At Memorial Hermann, we're finding that the Rehab Service is getting to the patients more quickly and that patients are showing better outcomes. They're showing improved functions over what we had seen in the past. The problem is getting the word out.