The Mobile Stroke Unit, funded entirely through community donors and a Sutter Health matching grant, launched into service just two years ago. Our goal was to get possible stroke patients evaluated and treated as quickly as possible — even before they reach the hospital — and it is already having a very positive impact in the community.
In treating stroke, time is everything. The longer a brain goes without oxygen, the more damage can occur. Many patients can be effectively treated with the clot-dissolving drug alteplase (also known as tPa), but that requires a very rapid diagnosis and treatment. The Mobile Stroke Unit, a specially equipped ambulance that brings a CT scanner and neurological expertise to patients in the field, is intended to dodoes just that.
