ENCSN News: 2009
ENCSN at the NC WISEWOMAN/BCCCP Biennial Conference
9/10/09. India Foy and Elynor Wilson displayed information about ENCSN and the Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program at the Biennial WISEWOMAN/BCCCP conference in Greensboro. WISEWOMAN stands for "Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation," and is a cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention program for underserved and underinsured women ages 40 to 64. BCCCP stands for the NC "Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program." Over 160 nurses and other health providers from across the state attended this meeting. All those in attendance were interested in the prevention of breast and cervical cancer, and cardiovascular disease. ENCSN was able to recruit 13 new public health nurses to the Network, and distributed information on the NCcareLink Database, high blood pressure/cholesterol brochures, and many of the new ENCSN business cards.
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From Regional to National Influence: An Outreach Success Story
8/31/09. Last week, Elynor Wilson, an ENCSN Staff Member, was contacted by a Stroke Outreach Coordinator in Austin, Texas. The Stroke Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Marcie Wilson, had found the ENCSN website through an online search and wanted to learn more about ENCSN, its history, and its purpose. Marcie was then kind enough to send a follow-up email to share with the rest of ENCSN (seen below).
 Hi Elynor,
My story:
We also partner with various hospitals in our region and come together for meetings with groups such as the Capital area Trauma Regional Advisory Council, Texas Department of Health and Human Services- CVD/Stroke and American Heart/ Stroke Association. The Eastern NC Stroke Network is truly an inspiration for us to come together and perhaps be able to do what ENCSN has done in our region, but in a smaller scale. I realize that the website will be perhaps one of our greatest challenges. Elynor Wilson is doing such a superb job on this site. Elynor, I truly appreciate the time you spend speaking with me and grateful that you are willing to answer our questions and share stories with us. I applaud ENCSN for their handwork and dedication and for the unbelievable services they are providing their communities. I was also extremely very happy to see that your educational downloads are also available in Spanish. I wish your group continued success, Maricela Wilson, RN BSN Stroke Outreach Coordinator Brain and Spine Center-Neurosciences University Medical Center at Brackenridge Austin, TX |
So, to all Eastern NC Stroke Champions: your work matters not only to your regional home communities, but could also have a positive influence on stroke care in the rest of the United States! Our success in outreach shows that the vision of ENCSN is being fulfilled: "to be recognized as a leading resource for voluntary collaboration on stroke best practices in Eastern NC communities"--and now beyond! Collaborative action can have a wide-reaching impact on stroke prevention and systems of care.
ENCSN Featured in NC Stroke Association Summer Newsletter
7/15/09. Download 'Update Stroke' Summer 2009 Newsletter, NC Stroke Association.
In a one-page article, Elynor Wilson and India Foy, ENCSN Staff, describe the history, mission, vision, and accomplishments of ENCSN in its first year of operation since Strategic Planning in 2008.
ENCSN at the Emergency Nurses Association Education Meeting, Eastern Tarheel Chapter #266
6/26/09 India Foy and Elynor Wilson, ENCSN Staff, gave a presentation to the Emergency Nurses Association Eastern Tarheel Chapter #266 on June 25, 2009 at the Chelsea Restaurant in New Bern, NC. Over 70 emergency nurses and emergency medical technicians attended this educational meeting. During their 45 minute presentation, India and Elynor shared stroke epidemiology data, introduced ENCSN, and described the benefits of joining the Network--including continuing education opportunities (from ASLS to pre-hospital education modules) and stroke hospitals' plans of care resources.
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ENCSN at GWTG-Stroke Conference
5/13/09 ENCSN had a display table at the Get With the Guidelines-Stroke educational meeting at the Durham Sheraton. Over 107 stroke coordinators and stroke physicians from North Carolina attended this one-day conference. At this meeting, the Stroke Network was able to distribute educational materials, as well as recruit over 20 new members to the ENCSN listserv.
GWTG Presentation Downloads Available!
Due to the generosity of AHA/ASA, PDF downloads of the GWTG meeting presentations can be found on the Quality Improvement: Implementation Guidelines page. GWTG meeting presentations included "A Unit Based Code Stroke Response Team" by Susan Freeman (PCMH), and "Telestroke: a different approach to stroke care" by Dr. Robert Adams (MUSC), among others.
ENCSN Stroke Champion Highlight: Duplin County
Hospital and EMS Collaborate to Improve Stroke in Duplin County
In partnership with the NC Stroke Care Collaborative (NCSCC) and the Eastern NC Stroke Network (ENCSN), Duplin county has become a leading example of coordinated stroke care in eastern NC. In 2009, Duplin County was identified by NCSCC as having a higher number of strokes than the state average (87 deaths per 100,000 in Duplin compared to 61.1 deaths in NC per year). Because of the development of fibrinolytic drugs, or clot busters, it is important to have quick, coordinated stroke response from emergency medical service ( EMS ) and hospital health professionals.
Following a site visit by NCSCC and the Eastern Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention (HDSP) coordinator, Duplin General Hospital 's stroke prevention coordinator, Carolyn Ezzell, began tracking the hospital's stroke quality improvement data to improve stroke response within the hospital. Duplin General Hospital also joined ENCSN and used its resources to produce a guideline-based stroke plan of care.
Simultaneously, Duplin county's Emergency Medical Services became involved in addressing pre-hospital response to stroke emergencies by improving health training of all the county's emergency medical technicians. In March 2009, Duplin paramedic and EMS training officer, Dave Cuddeback, taught five Advanced Stroke Life Support (ASLS) classes at James Sprunt Community College in Kenansville. These classes were made mandatory for all Duplin EMS and were funded by Eastern HDSP . Over 140 people participated in these stroke trainings, including both pre-hospital and hospital staff.
Dave Cuddeback from Duplin EMS and Carolyn Ezzell from Duplin General Hospital continue to collaborate to provide stroke prevention education to their community. For example, in May 2009 for Stroke Awareness Month, both Dave Cuddeback and Carolyn Ezzell used HDSP health education media items in community health fair events.
The work that Duplin General Hospital and Duplin EMS have done to improve the response system for stroke has lead to better health outcomes for stroke patients. For example, one stroke patient received a full evaluation within 40 minutes and was then given fibrinolytic therapy. As a result, this patient had minimal disability due to the stroke.
ENCSN Stroke Champion Highlight: Martin Community College Emergency Services
Community College Makes Stroke Training Accessible
After attending an Advanced Stroke Life Support (ASLS) training in April 2008 at Area L- Area Health Education Center, Martin Community College Emergency Services (MCC-ES) Training Program staff realized a training need for stroke education in the northeast region of the state. They also recognized the time constraints experienced by nearly all of the volunteer-based emergency response personnel in the region.
With oversight from Lee Black, MCC-ES Training Program Director, Lori Hardison, MCC-ES Training Program staff, began developing a stroke continuing education curriculum. By design, the curriculum condenses the lengthy stroke life support curriculum and provides instruction for proper patient assessment in a three-hour continuing education course. As with all continuing education curricula, the stroke continuing education curriculum meets the National Curriculum Standards-Altered Mental State and includes current stroke information.
The MCC-ES Training Program’s stroke continuing education curriculum will be offered to all levels of emergency management technicians on campus and at individual squads throughout Martin, Bertie and Washington counties thus enhancing the knowledge/skills and capability of pre-hospital personnel to respond to strokes. Given the critical difference time can make in the stroke treatments available to stroke patients, training of pre-hospital staff is necessary for improving stroke care and outcomes.
ENCSN at the EAHEC Regional Stroke Conference
4/24/09. As one of the co-sponsors of the event through NC Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention funds, ENCSN had a display table at the EAHEC Regional Stroke Conference on April 24th, 2009 in Greenville, NC. Over 170 people attended the conference on "Outcomes Based Recovery." The keynote speaker was Dr. George Howard, the Principal Investigator of the REGARDS Study which stands for "REasons for Geographic And Racial Disparities in Stroke." ENCSN was able to provide scholarship funds to 15 regional nurses and EMT's who otherwise could not have attended the conference. Many new members joined ENCSN after visiting the table display and picking up education or media items.
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ENCSN is on Google!
3/1/09. Web surfers can now find the ENCSN website through the mainstream search engine, Google! This development should improve the visibility of the Network and increase its internet presence.
ENCSN at Legislative Heart Health Day (LHHD)
2/11/09. ENCSN had a display table at the Legislative Heart Health Day on February 11, 2009 at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, NC. ENCSN members from Pitt County Memorial Hospital also had a display at the all-day event, performing stroke screenings on state legislators and their staff. ENCSN staff, Elynor Wilson and India Foy, visited Eastern region legislators throughout the day, educating the policy makers about high cardiovascular mortality, high stroke mortality, the need for Emergency Medical Dispatch/Emergency Medical Staff training, and the goals of ENCSN. Below are a few photos from the event.
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Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Branch Director |