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STROKE CENTER OVERVIEW
When someone you love is experiencing a stroke and requires emergency care,   it's reassuring to know expert help is immediately available. Stroke care requires a dedicated team that fights stroke 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Stroke Center at Abington Memorial Hospital is designed to diagnose, treat and manage patients with stroke. The center has committed its services to the community by interacting and teaching people about stroke warning signs and prevention.

The Comprehensive Stroke Center consistently sets goals to improve patient outcomes. A fully integrated and multidisciplinary neuro team work together to accomplish these goals. Team members include: a neurologist, neurointerventionalist, neurosurgeon, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, case management, social service, nutrition services, pastoral care services, geriatric clinical nurse specialist, pharmacist, and stroke program coordinator.

The Comprehensive Stroke Center also has a dedicated stroke committee, which meets every eight weeks to review stroke care and set new goals. This is a dedicated committee to evaluate our processes and outcomes. Members of the committee include: director of Medicine, Stroke director, Rehabilitation physician, Stroke Program coordinator, vice president of Patient Services, nurse director, Stroke Unit, nurse manager, Stroke Unit, nurse representatives, Stroke Unit, nurse representative, Rehabilitation Unit, Pharmacy, Performance Improvement, ETC physicians, ETC nurses, neurointerventionalist, radiologist, nurse manager, Cath Lab, and nurse manager, Surgical Trauma/TCU.

The Comprehensive Stroke Center aligns critical hospital resources for emergency stroke intervention and follow up. Structural measures of the Stroke Center include:

  • Organized emergency response team/system that responds to stroke as an emergency, with immediate response time, access to specialty care (neurosurgery, neurointerventionalist, neurology, rehabilitation), access to acute pharmacological therapy, clinical trial availability, and critical care availability.
  • A designated stroke unit, inpatient rehab program, multidisciplinary stroke team, clinical practice guidelines, physician orders, patient quality improvement program.
  • Process measures include the implementation of secondary stroke prevention (antiplatelet therapy, anticoagulation), acute management of stroke risk factors, evaluation of patient for rehabilitation, evaluation of screening, swallowing, evaluation of nutritional status, and screening for depression.

As published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, key elements of a stroke center include an acute stroke team, a stroke unit, written care protocols, integrated EMS, rehabilitation services and community education programs. Inpatient support services include availability and interpretation of CT scans 24 hours a day, rapid laboratory testing and around-the-clock pharmacy services. Administrative support, strong leadership and continuing education are also important elements.

The Abington Memorial Hospital Comprehensive Stroke Center possesses all of these key elements.


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THE AMH STROKE CENTER PHYSICIANS

B. Franklin Diamond, M.D.
Stroke Center Director



Debi Murphy, M.S.N., C.R.N.P.
Stroke Program and
Neuro-Research Coordinator

dmurphy@amh.org



NEUROLOGY

Active - Inpatient and Outpatient Care
B. Franklin Diamond, M.D.  - Stroke Center Director
Lee J. Harris, M.D.  - Chief, Neurology Division
Kevin R. Booth, M.D.
James M. Burke, Jr. M.D.
James H. Cook, M.D.
Brad Klein, M.D.
Albert D. Wagman, M.D.
David C. Weisman, M.D.

Stephen F. Lewis, M.D.

Affiliates - Outpatient Care
Tonya M. DiTrapani-Stephenson, M.D.
George H. Dooneief, M.D.
Vidhu B. Gupta, M.D.
Lawrence A. Kerson, M.D.
Malcolm L. McHarg, M.D.
Laurance D. Smith, M.D.  

 

NEUROSURGERY

Steven J. Barrer, M.D.

Chief, Neurosurgery

Vincent L. Ferrara, M.D.
Jonas Gopez, M.D.
Richard J. Meagher, M.D.
Michael Yoon, M.D.

 

NEUROENDOVASCULAR / NEUROINTERVENTIONAL 

Robert A. Koenigsberg, D.O.
Qaisar A. Shah, M.D.

 

EMERGENCY MEDICINE/TRAUMA CENTER

Kendel G. Kidwell, M.D.

Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine

John E. Bair, M.D.
Andrew G. Ball, M.D.
Christopher K. Blazes, M.D.
John T. Comber, M.D.
David M. Comperatore, M.D.
Philippe de Kerillis, D.O.
Steven F. Fisher M.D.
F. Thomas Harkins, M.D.
Paul R. Hope, M.D.
Steven N. Johnsson, D.O.
Paul D. McMullen, M.D.
Bruce D. Rubin, M.D.
Leonard A. Rubin, D.O.
Millard A. Ruddell, M.D.
Kenneth C. Shildkrout, M.D.
David R. Theodorson, M.D.
Linda M. Urbanski, M.D.

 

PULMONARY – CRITICAL CARE

Henry S. Mishel, M.D.

Chief, Pulmonary Medicine Division

Christopher G. Bossé, M.D.
G. Chris Christensen, III, D.O.
Joseph G. Crocetti, Jr., D.O.
Richard E. Friedenheim, M.D.
Conrad C. Reed, M.D.
Stanley P. Silverman, M.D.
Richard W. Snyder, M.D.

 

RADIOLOGY 

Jennifer V. Frabizzio, M.D.
Jere F. Seelaus, M.D.
Alan R. Weiss, M.D.

Robert M. White, M.D.

 

REHABILITATION MEDICINE

Steven P. Levin, M.D.
Chief, Rehabilitation Medicine

Carol Anne Dillon D.O.
Jill A. Marple, M.D.
Richard P. Rosenstein, D.O.

V. Theerasakdi, M.D.
Zhongyu Zhang, M.D.


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SERVICES RELATED TO STROKE

Department of Radiology

Neurology Research Coordinator
Vanessa Thomas, P.A.-C.
(215) 886-7000

Research Pharmacy
Deborah Rhodes, Pharm. D., M.A.S.
(215) 481-2319

Stroke Therapy and Service
Pam Cottman, Nurse Manager
(215) 481-7535


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STROKE PROGRAMS
Abington has been acting as a resource for coordinators from other hospitals who wish to come, visit and learn about our stroke program. We are working with the National Stroke Association, the Delaware Valley Stroke Council, the American Stroke Association and the National Aphasia Association as these educational projects continue. Stroke programs continue to develop to enhance stroke treatment and management. AMH continues to play a leadership role in stroke care through its participation in the Philadelphia's Stroke Council's Stroke Treatment Enhancement Program (STEP) and the American Stroke Association's Acute Stroke Treatment Program (ASTP).


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THE STROKE CENTER FUND
Abington Memorial Hospital Stroke Center has a Stroke Center Fund. Donations to this fund can be mailed directly to:

Abington Memorial Hospital
Fund Development Department
Attn: Stroke Center Fund
1200 Old York Road, Abington, PA 19001

Stroke Center donations are used to obtain the most recent equipment and rehabilitation items for our stroke patients. Equipment may include items such as communication programs for patients who are unable to speak, computer software programs utilized in speech rehabilitation, motor and sensory rehabilitation tools, and more. For more information, please contact our Fund Development Department at (215) 481-4977.


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ATTENTION ALL STROKE SURVIVORS…
Please join our Stroke Survivor Volunteer Program

If you are a stroke survivor and have ever wondered “Why me?”-- you have what it takes to be a stroke survivor volunteer at Abington Memorial Hospital’s Stroke Center. In fact, you now have a terrific opportunity to make your stroke experience meaningful for others.

These special volunteers lend a helping hand to other stroke survivors and their caregivers. You have knowledge and experience that can directly support and benefit others.

If you would like to become a stroke survivor volunteer at AMH, please call Volunteer Services, at (215) 481-2490 or Debi Murphy, stroke program coordinator, at (215) 481-3627 for an application. After you apply, you will be called for an interview and scheduled for a three-hour volunteer orientation session. We are very excited about this program and are looking forward to hearing from you.

Share your personal stroke experience and recovery story on our AMH stroke center website
We would like to invite you to share your stroke experience and inspirational thoughts on our hospital website (as a stroke survivor and/or caregiver) with other stroke victims and families.

As a stroke survivor, you have a unique story about your experience with stroke and your recovery. What happened to you? How did you deal with it? There may be a specific challenge you may want to share or inspirational, motivating thoughts for recovery. You may want to discuss how stroke has changed your life, how you survived and re-created your life. Here is your chance to help others recover from stroke. You can share your story (and even a personal photo) here on the AMH stroke website. You may also keep your story anonymous. We will post stories and bios in a new, dedicated section called “Personal Inspirational Stories from Stroke Survivors and Caregivers.”

If you are interested in sharing your personal experience with stroke, please call Debi Murphy, stroke program coordinator, (215) 481-3627, or send an e-mail to dmurphy@amh.org. We are looking forward to hearing from you.


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STROKE HELP LINE (215) 481-3621
The Stroke Help Line is a non-emergency help line. It is an informational resource line available to our patients (inpatients and outpatients) and caregivers.

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