Stroke Care

Clinical excellence combined with respectful delivery of state-of-the art care defines Suburban Community Hospital’s stroke programs and sets us apart. Our stroke teams—comprised of board certified physicians, nurses, therapists and social workers—offer an integrated approach to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of and education about stroke.

Suburban Community hospital is designated a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.

When patients display stroke-like symptoms, early diagnosis and treatment are crucial. We are focused on providing rapid diagnosis using the treatment and guidelines developed by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With the Guidelines-Stroke program to treat stroke patients when they are admitted to the emergency department, winning the Stroke Gold-Plus Award. Our hospital is equipped:

• To provide brain-imaging scans which are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
• With Neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and use clot-busting medications when appropriate.
• With a rapid response stroke team and specially trained physicians and nurses to administer immediate care.

During and after a hospital stay we provided or connect patients with services needed to begin their recovery and make continued progress. We offer:

• Stroke education for patients and their families to help them understand stroke, rehabilitation, and prevention.
• Rehabilitation and therapy services (including physical, speech, and occupational therapy) to help patients regain movement and function abilities
• Nutrition services to help patients make positive lifestyle decisions.
• Social work services to help patients and families cope with change.

We also help patients improve their health through smoking cessation, weight management and exercise, and managing diabetes and cholesterol levels.

Emergency Stroke Care

Suburban Community Hospital’s comprehensive emergency stroke care ensures quick response to patients’ needs, and includes:

• Rapid response stroke teams.
• Specially trained personnel to urgently evaluate and treat stroke.
• Experienced Emergency Medicine Physicians and Neurologists.
• Neurology coverage 24/7.
• Leading-edge imaging services and equipment to diagnose and treat stroke.
• Acute rehabilitation services which focus on enabling patients to maximize their function.
• Participation in American Heart Association’s/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines-Stroke program to help assure rapid diagnosis and stroke treatment when patients are admitted to the emergency department.

Stroke Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation should begin after the stroke as soon as possible. Our experienced rehabilitation teams work one-on-one with stroke survivors on regaining movement, improving function abilities, and increasing the overall quality of life after a stroke.

Suburban Community Hospital stroke/brain injury rehabilitation services are available on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.

Prevention of Future Strokes

The exceptionally skilled stroke care teams at Suburban Community Hospital also work to prevent secondary strokes through:

• Aggressive use of medications, such as blood pressure medications, statins and anti-platelets, as indicated in the secondary stroke prevention guidelines.
• Treatment of atrial fibrillation, a disorder that prevents blood from pumping out completely of the heart and increases the chance of blood clots.
• Treatment of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries.
• Identification and treatment of carotid stenosis, the hardening of the neck arteries.