Stroke Services

Holy Family's New England Regional Stroke Center

Holy Family is an accredited stroke facility that works in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to provide 24/7 evaluation of potential stroke patients. All of this is done at the patient's bedside using state-of-the-art "Telemedicine."

Early Intervention

Through a secure videoconferencing network between the two hospitals, Holy Family’s Emergency Room Physicians are able to collaborate with stroke neurologists at MGH in real-time. This allows experts to rapidly perform "virtual" bedside neurological evaluations during which they examine patients, review brain images, and quickly select the best acute stroke treatments in collaboration with local ER staffs.

One of the potential treatments is an FDA-approved medicine (tPA) that can reverse the devastating effects of stroke for some patients if it is administered within three hours of the onset of a stroke. However, treatments are time-dependent and, as a result, most effective when they can be provided in the nearest emergency room. Telemedicine provides individuals from the Merrimack Valley and southern NH with acces to the same level of expert care available at a major medical center with an experienced stroke program.

"This partnership extends Holy Family’s stroke expertise and assures our patients 24/7 access to an immediate evaluation by some of the country’s preeminent stroke care physicians. And this is all done right at Holy Family Hospital, in the patient’s community.”
- Steven Crespo, MD, Chief of the Emergency Department at Holy Family Hospital.

“Time is critical when someone is experiencing a stroke. Making the right clinical decisions and starting treatment as soon as possible can save lives and preserve quality of life. This real-time videoconferencing allows Holy Family's Emergency Room physicians and MGH’s stroke experts to determine if a patient is eligible for an advanced stroke treatment, or perhaps a clinical research trial that might reduce the extent of disability or improve the long-term outcome.”
- Lee Schwamm, MD, Director of TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital

Rehabilitation

At Holy Family we foster a team approach to rehabilitation that involves stroke survivors and their family members. While most stroke survivors undergo a natural healing process, recovery can be greatly enhanced with further rehabilitation. Our goal is to use the latest technology, combined with personal and compassionate attention, to help patients return to everyday life as independently as possible.