Stroke education campaign appears to be working

Since state officials initiated a stroke education effort in Flathead County, Kalispell Regional Healthcare has reported a rise in stroke patients entering its emergency-room doors.

Headed by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the campaign began last fall as an effort to educate people on what a stroke looks like and the importance of finding help immediately.

Nicki Perisho with Kalispell Regional Healthcare said since the campaign kicked off, the Emergency Department has seen its number of stroke patients more than double.

“This campaign is important because signs for a stroke can be subtle and there’s especially that Montana notion of ‘I feel a little off, I’ll just lie down a while,’” she said.

Perisho said waiting can lead to lifelong disabilities. She said a patient has three hours and thirty minutes to receive medication that can potentially decrease the lasting affects caused by strokes.

The Montana Cardiovascular Health Program worked with local hospitals and clinics to distribute stroke brochures and posters, as well as using a combination of paid print, TV, radio and billboard ads describing stroke signs.

Since the commercials started airing, Kalispell Regional’s Emergency Department has received 65 stroke patients — compared with the last quarter’s 29 patients, according to Perisho.

“My best guess is that the number of stroke patients we’re seeing is because the state has reached its audience,” Perisho said.

Crystelle Fogle, a program manager with the Montana Cardiovascular Health Program, said this month the effort is shifting gears to evaluate whether Flathead Valley residents have learned how to recognize a stroke.

The program conducts statewide reports to prevent heart disease and stroke.

“If you count cardiovascular disease and strokes together, it’s still a nationwide and state leading cause of death,” Fogle said.

Throughout April and May, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services will conduct a telephone survey of Flathead County residents who are 45 and older to determine if they can recognize a stroke.

Fogle said this is the second time the campaign has hit the county. The first campaign was in 2008 and included a survey before and after the campaign.

While the 2008 effort revealed more people recognized the signs of a stroke, just as many people reported they were unlikely to call 911 immediately.

Fogle said while Kalispell Regional Healthcare’s Neuroscience and Spine Institute has tapped into some of the state’s most advanced stroke treatment, it could only help if people reach the hospital within two or three hours of signs developing.

“Hopefully we’ve saturated the Flathead County to see a growth of understanding,” she said.

According to a prepared statement by Richard Opper, the director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services, all information collected in the survey is confidential. Caller will identify themselves as representing the department and the survey takes roughly 10 minutes.

Kalispell Regional Healthcare will have a stroke support group meeting April 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for stroke survivors and caretakers. For more information call 406-751-7165.

Online:

http://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/Cardiovascular.aspx.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.