SSEEO Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other

AHA/ASA IL Stroke Update

By Alex Meixner

March 1st saw a major milestone in Illinois stroke care, as the City of Chicago became the first of Illinois’ eleven EMS regions to implement advanced stroke transport and treatment protocols as a result of the state stroke legislation signed into law in August 2009. This means that anyone identified by Chicago Fire Department paramedics as a potential stroke patient will be taken immediately to a Primary Stroke Center to receive optimal care in minimal time. This significant step forward for stroke care in Illinois is a direct result of years of hard work by Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other, Inc. (SSEEO), its members, and its allies, and will have a substantial impact in ensuring better outcomes for the people of Illinois.

Clearly, however, there is more work to do in ensuring that the state’s other 10 EMS regions follow Chicago’s example and swiftly develop stroke transportation and treatment protocols, which must ultimately conform to the standards set out in the stroke law. That means encouraging each EMS region to continue their work on protocol development, as each region’s geography, demography, and infrastructure are different and therefore necessitate a protocol tailored to their specific needs. It also means ensuring that the state’s newly created Stroke Advisory Subcommittee quickly complete its legally mandated duty to produce a set of baseline protocol guidelines that all 11 EMS regional protocols must meet or exceed. SSEEO and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) will continue to engage with the relevant governmental actors throughout this complicated process, and ensure that the collective voices of stroke survivors everywhere are heard in city halls and the state capitol.

Finally, SSEEO and the AHA are looking forward to national Stroke Month this May. Working with partners throughout the state and across the country, we are looking for opportunities to broaden public awareness of stroke, and will push for stroke-related resources at AHA/ASA’s upcoming federal lobby day in Washington, DC. As a down-payment on increased public advocacy on stroke, Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran, a neurologist and AHA/ASA volunteer, recently recorded two segments on stroke for Comcast Newsmakers, which will be repeatedly shown on Comcast stations in the Chicago market including CNN’s Headline News. There’s certainly more work to do, but we are confident that SSEEO, the AHA/ASA, and all of our members will continue to make a real difference in the lives of thousands of Illinoisans affected by stroke. To get involved in advocacy, visit www.yourethecure.org. For more information on current issues in Illinois, visit www.heartofillinois.blogspot.com.

Alex Meixneris a Director of Government Relations with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. In that capacity, he leads the AHA/ASA’s work in IL on improving stroke and heart attack emergency systems of care, as well as their work on implementation of some aspects of federal health care reform. Prior to working for the AHA/ASA, Mr. Meixner worked as a federal lobbyist in Washington, DC focusing on international human rights issues, and has served as a staff member for Rep. Robert Matsui (D-CA), Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA), and Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD).