Best Practice News

"As a stroke survivor with firsthand knowledge of some of the unique pieces of the puzzle that are needed to help us, it was deeply fulfilling to collaborate on and lend perspective to some of the tools available to assist with navigating the numerous resources out there.

A collaborative event about the Deseronto Indigenous Blood Pressure (BP) Screening Model was held virtually in November 2020 with the following main objectives

The Basic Life Support Patient Care Standards for paramedics in Ontario recently added the Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) as a secondary screen in their Acute Stroke Bypass Protocol. Paramedics are now using the LAMS as their large vessel occlusion (LVO) screen for potential Endovascular Thrombectomy (EVT) candidacy.

The ACT-FAST is a large vessel occlusion triage tool used to screen for EVT eligibility. This screening tool is being used by hospitals across southeastern Ontario to guide decision making for triaging patients arriving in the ED between 6-24 hours from stroke symptom onset.

The Primary Care and Stroke Prevention Clinic CME held February 5th 2020 was well-received with 55 health care providers attending from across the South East. The post evaluations were positive with some comments indicating that the content was “usable” and “would like to attend more of these events.”

3 Stroke Prevention Provincial Resources were recently developed to help tackle main gaps identified in the Secondary Stroke Prevention Clinic Core Elements self-assessments completed in 2018/19.

QHC opened its Integrated Stroke Unit (ISU) for both acute and rehabilitation care a year ago, on Dec 11, 2018. QHC, the designated District Stroke Centre for Quinte, provides inpatient care to stroke patients requiring both acute and rehabilitation services at its Belleville General Hospital site. 

The Canadian Stroke Congress took place in Ottawa in Oct 2019 bringing together leading stroke experts from across Canada and beyond. Teams delivered presentations and posters to share an impressive array of learning from across the continuum of stroke care within Southeastern Ontario.

Work began in the spring to identify core best practice elements and processes that support the stroke patient’s journey with a focus on the elements between care settings or transitions. The Acute Rehabilitation and Community (ARC) Pathway was developed along with a team self –assessment tool.  Each team from acute care to the community, completed a self-assessment process to review elements that support best practice and facilitate the patient journey.

New evidence (DAWN and DEFUSE 3) indicates that highly selected patients with severe ischemic stroke may benefit from stroke Endovascular Thrombectomy (EVT) between 6-24 hours of clearly defined stroke symptom onset.  In response to the extended time window, Emergency Departments and Paramedic Services collaborated with the Stroke Network of Southeastern Ontario to implement the ACT-FAST algorithm. The ACT-FAST is a large vessel occlusion screen for EVT eligibility being used to guide decision making for triaging patients arriving in the Emergency Department.