Stroke Centre of Excellence
We're creating a seamless stroke care experience for patients in Scarborough.
Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is transforming care for our community by looking at how best to deliver our services to provide the highest quality, specialized care — and we are excited to be moving forward with the creation of a new Stroke Centre of Excellence at our Birchmount hospital. For the first time, patients and families will have access to seamless stroke care service here in our Scarborough community.
Coming April 2020
Work on SHN’s Stroke Centre of Excellence is quickly moving forward. We are finalizing our implementation plan to be able to launch the new Stroke Centre of Excellence at our Birchmount hospital in April 2020. As these plans take shape, we are pleased to share details around what the new Centre will look like and how services will be delivered.
The Stroke Centre of Excellence will be located on the 4th floor at SHN's Birchmount hospital
INTEGRATED STROKE UNIT
The Stroke Centre will be built around a new Integrated Stroke Unit. This is best practice for treating stroke patients who have been hospitalized. Patients get specialized medical care and can be transitioned into rehabilitation all within the same space, without having to move from unit to unit. This means faster service, less time spent in the hospital, and better recovery and quality of life when patients return home.
FEATURES
22 beds for specialized, acute stroke care and rehabilitation services
A gym for occupational and physical therapy
An enhanced lounge to help patients in become more mobile and get back to daily activities, such as dining and recreation
STROKE PREVENTION CLINIC
The Stroke Centre at Birchmount will also include an outpatient Stroke Prevention Clinic that will help to support patients in managing their risk factors for stroke.
FEATURES
For patients who have had a “mini” or “warning” stroke known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or have symptoms of TIA
Open five days a week
Provides consultations, and partners with SHN’s emergency departments and family physicians in the community
DEDICATED STROKE CARE TEAM
Stroke care at the Centre will be delivered through a coordinated, interprofessional approach. The stroke care team will include:
Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Rehab Assistants, Speech Language Therapists, Nurse Practitioners, Social Workers, Pharmacists, Dietitians, and Spiritual Care
Physicians specialists in Internal Medicine, Neurology, and Physiatry
Next Steps
SHN is continuing to finalize our implementation plan for putting the new Stroke Centre of Excellence in place at our Birchmount hospital. This work is being led by Task Force teams for Clinical Services, Capital Planning, and Human Resources.
Throughout November, SHN held several community engagement sessions where we discussed how we are planning the delivery of services across our health network. This was an opportunity to speak about the Stroke Centre of Excellence, which is an exciting example of how planning clinical services can make a positive difference for Scarborough.
We will continue to engage our community and provide updates on the development of the new Stroke Centre as we progress towards our April 2020 launch date.
Accessing Stroke Care Today
To create our new Stroke Centre of Excellence, in the coming months, SHN will be moving stroke services from inpatient units currently at our Centenary and General hospitals to our Birchmount hospital. Until we open the Stroke Centre of Excellence in April, we continue to deliver stroke care through our current units and services at Centenary and General.
What to do in an emergency
If you think that you or someone you’re with is having a stroke, call 911 immediately for emergency services. The ambulance will get you to the hospital for care the fastest. Signs of stroke include drooping in your face, difficulty raising your arms, slurring of your speech.
GET INVOLVED, SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
We love hearing from you. From telephone town halls, to community forums, to twitter polls, to emails, your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions help us shape the future of health care in Scarborough.