Telestroke Care at BHS Clarion Hospital

Clarion Hospital collaborates with Allegheny Health Network to bring advanced telestroke services to Clarion.

Utilizing the latest telemedicine technology, BHS Clarion Hospital can now offer the services of real time, audiovisual consultation with a stroke neurologist from the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Neuroscience Institute in treating patients with stroke symptoms.

Through a USDA federally funded matching grant, BHS Clarion Hospital was able to acquire the telemedicine video conferencing carts at the hospital. This equipment allows for our physicians to connect directly with AHN neurologists to assist in evaluating the patient right here in our hospital and together determine the best course of treatment.

The telemedicine equipment is moved to the foot of the patient bed. Once it is established that a video consultation is in order, the neurologist logs into the telestroke system and can interact with the patient, their family and the BHS Clarion Hospital Physician. The neurologist discusses the assessment findings and the treatment options with the family during the video consultation. Once options are discussed the plan of treatment is put into place, which may include Alteplase, a clot busting drug that can be administered right here at BHS Clarion Hospital. There are two Telemedicine Carts available to our physicians to use, one is located in our Emergency Department and the second is located in our ICU to provide Telestroke Services to patients that are already hospitalized.