Stroke program expanding here

A statewide program that provides specialized care to stroke patients in rural communities is continuing to expand in the Flathead Valley and has hit statewide records for treating patients from afar.

Nicki Perisho, the Kalispell Regional Medical Center telehealth clinical coordinator, described the quick process of a stroke taking over someone’s body.

“A lot of time, Montanans experiencing a stroke are hours from the closest neurologists,” Perisho said. “And they only have a few hours before the long-term effects caused by a stroke could change their life.”

In 2009, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services began the Telestroke Project to connect rural hospitals with a neurologist within minutes. The system works through a two-way video connection. It allows for a real-time physical examination and gives doctors the ability to consult on CT scan images of the brain.

Health officials announced that as of this summer, the program has connected more than 100 patients to neurologists for telemedicine consults since it launched.

Perisho said that’s just the start.

When the program kicked off in 2009, Kalispell Regional began working with clinics in Libby, Ronan and Plains. In 2014, a grant from the state Department of Agriculture helped grow the health system’s reach to four new sites: Conrad, Cutbank, Shelby and Whitefish.

While the ink is still fresh on the agreement, Perisho said Kalispell Regional is working to expand the telestroke program to two new sites in the upcoming weeks.

“This has changed things for the critical access hospitals we partner with,” Perisho said. “Before, those providers who maybe had just one stroke patient a year could feel alone in a situation. But now, they have access to neurologists within minutes to help determine best treatment options.”

Perisho said before the implementation of the Telestroke Project, very few patients in rural Montana had a chance to access t-PA — a treatment for the most common type of stroke.

The medicine can potentially reduce the long-term effects attached to a stroke. But t-PA only works if a patient receives it roughly within three hours of when their symptoms began.

Perisho said while connecting rural doctors with a support system has improved the valley’s response to strokes, it’s only part of the puzzle.

She said it’s important people know how to recognize the signs of a stroke, such as face drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty.

“As a state, specialized health care is working to further its reach within rural communities, but in stroke cases, how much a doctor can help largely relies on a person getting to the hospital,” Perisho said.

Mike McNamara of the DPHHS Cardiovascular Health Program said cardiovascular disease, including stroke, is one of the leading causes of death in the nation.

“The most rewarding part of the Telestroke Project is that through telemedicine it brings some of the most well-respected stroke neurologists to small, critical access hospitals in Montana,” McNamara said.

According to the department, the statewide project also connects hospitals in Glasgow, Lewistown and Havre to neurologists working in Seattle, Portland, Denver, Kalispell or Great Falls.

Joy Linn, of Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow, said the Telestroke project adds a peace of mind to the hospital’s ER staff.

“When patients with non-typical presentations of stroke symptoms come through our doors, it really puts our minds at ease to know we can access the direction and guidance of a neurologist,” she said.

 Linn said the program not only connects health professionals, it gives neurologists a chance to assess and talk with the patient.

“It has made a difference in providing better patient outcomes to our rural population in northeastern Montana,” Linn said.

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