Atrium Health Cabarrus Hospital Emergency Department

Concord, North Carolina

Recognizing the critical impact of timely stroke care, Cabarrus Hospital’s emergency department staff focused on refining activation protocols to minimize delays and improve patient outcomes. By collaborating closely with the facility’s stroke coordinator and ED leadership, the team streamlined the activation process, emphasizing early notification from both internal and external points of contact, such as the telestroke button and EMS transmissions. This initiative involved re-educating staff in the 44-bed ED on the revised procedures and deploying an additional telestroke cart to enhance accessibility and readiness. Additionally, the staff implemented educational programs for the front-end registration team and local EMS agencies, emphasizing the importance of early recognition and pre-alerting for stroke cases. By tracking EMS pre-alerts and integrating them into activation metrics, the team effectively monitored and improved door-to-code stroke activation times, ensuring that stroke patients receive prompt and effective care from the moment they arrive. This initiative has significantly contributed to the ED’s ability to meet and exceed its goals in reducing door-to-code stroke activation times and enhancing patient care outcomes.