skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Better Stroke Treatment for Every Part of Minnesota

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 27, 2014   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - National Stroke Awareness Month is quickly coming to a close, but it's hoped lessons learned about stroke treatment will last long beyond the end of May.

Megan Hicks, quality improvement coordinator, Minnesota Stroke Registry Program, explains since brain damage can mount with each passing minute, it is critical to recognize the symptoms of a stroke, which can easily be remembered with the acronym "FAST."

"The 'F' is for facial droop. 'A' is for arm weakness. 'S' is speech difficulty and 'T' is time to call 9-1-1, and recognizing that a stroke is an emergency," says Hicks.

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in Minnesota, taking about 2,000 lives each year. In an effort to reduce the number of deaths and improve outcomes for survivors, Hicks says the state Department of Health and the American Heart Association have led the development of an innovative, voluntary approach to advance the Minnesota Stroke System.

"This is based on a coordinated system of care between ambulance agencies, community hospitals in rural areas and larger hospitals that provide harmonized care," says Hicks. "The ultimate goal of this system is that every person in Minnesota has access to timely care, regardless of their location in the state."

Key to the effort is the designation of hospitals as "stroke-ready." Only 17 in the state are certified now, but Joanie Somes with the Emergency Nurses Association says nearly 30 others are in the process of applying.

"We're giving them the information that they need," says Somes. "'These are the criteria. This is how you would triage your patients to the nearest facility.' And then, making sure that the facilities have the knowledge and the information and the equipment, as well as the medications that they need to take care of strokes."

Somes, who is an emergency room nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, says there are currently more than one million Minnesotans who live more than an hour away from a certified stroke center.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021