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Saturday, May 10, 2014 • Page 1B

STROKE

You Never Think It Can Happen to You

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Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital’s Stroke Program reduces Door-to-Needle time, achieves Top 5 percent ranking from Healthgrades

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�� With close teamwork and new processes that expedite treatment, the Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital Stroke Program has reduced its median door-to-needle time – the time it takes to deliver intravenous plasminogen activator (tPA) to a patient with acute ischemic stroke after arrival at the Emergency Center. “If administered within three hours – and up to 4.5 hours in certain eligible patients – tPA may improve the chances of recovery from a stroke,” said Reza Sadeghi, M.D., a neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist affiliated with Mischer Neuroscience Associates and the stroke medical director at Memorial Hermann Northwest. “The benefit of tPA is greatest when given early. Guidelines for U.S. hospitals recommend treatment within 60 minutes of arrival at the Emergency Center. That’s our goal, and we’re meeting it.” For 12 consecutive years, the Stroke Program at Memorial Hermann Northwest has achieved fivestar ranking from Healthgrades for the treatment of stroke. The hospital’s success in reducing door-toneedle time is one of many factors leading to its 2014 Healthgrades ranking among the top 5 per-

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Four years after her stroke, Kenyetta Brasher celebrates Easter with her children, 3-year-old Mia, 2-year-old Victoria, and 4-year-old Corrion. (Picture supplied)

cent in the nation for stroke treatment. At Memorial Hermann Northwest, a committee of physicians, nurses, and administrative and ancillary staff from the Emergency Center, neurology service and radiology, meets once a month to review times for patients treated with tPA. “We cre-

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ated a detailed ﬂowchart, starting with notiﬁcation from paramedics that a stroke patient will arrive and continuing through administration of tPA,” said See Stroke, P. 2B

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Women’s health gets a mobility boost

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By Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com

Dr. Daniel Roubein, a radiologist with more than 20 years of experience, recommends that women 40 years old and older get a mammogram once a year. There are exceptions when it should be done earlier, such as family history. Roubein wanted to make it easier for women to get access to mammograms, so last October, he developed a fully certiﬁed mobile mammography unit for patients. Mammosafe works with Houston area businesses to set up appointments for mammograms in the business’ parking lot, so employees don’t have to travel to make a doctor’s appointment. “A high percentage of women were over 40 and never had a mammogram,” Roubein said. “When we’re right outside the parking lot, it made it impossible for them to skip it.” While Mammosafe isn’t the ﬁrst mobile Mammogram unit, Roubein said it is thorough and has a strong attention to customer service and

�� Radiologist Dr. Daniel Roubein oﬀers women easier access to Mammograms through a mobie clinic. For more information be sure to visit them online at www.Mammosafe. com. (Submitted photo)

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details. The results for the mammograms are revealed in a short period of time to ease patients’ anxiety, and everything is done in a “secure, safe” manner that respects patients’ privacy. Roubein goes over the images with the patient and talks about the results. If there is a problem, he puts the patient in touch with a health care professional or communicates with the patient’s doctor.

If more scans are necessary, Roubein’s staff takes care of it on the scene. In traditional medical settings, patients may set up a follow-up appointment that is 2-3 weeks away. Mammosafe can often spend 2-3 hours at a location because it will serve as many patients as possible. Recently, it visited a school district north of Houston, and teachers were able to get their mammograms during their planning or lunch times.

“We feel really good about being able to get out to the patients,” Roubein said. Mammosafe has recently partnered with the Breast Health Collaborative of Texas and would like to work with more businesses in the Heights. For more information, log on to mammosafe.com

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The Next Step, an approach for Autism By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com

Lauren Harrington Abel of Next Step Academy advocates an approach to autism that takes the whole child into account. (Photo by Paul Ladd Photography)

FREEDOM FREEDOM FROMFROM

JOINT JOINT PAIN PAIN

Barbara Haney’s son Bobby is one of the 1 in 68 United States children who have an autism spectrum disorder. “At six years of age, even with four years of therapy under his belt, he still couldn’t talk, couldn’t focus, couldn’t sit still or follow the simplest of instructions,”said Bobby’s mother Barbara Haney. “He’d been in therapy since he was two but no school would take him.” Though word of mouth, Haney found The Next Step Academy on Brookwoods in Oak Forest and its founder Lauren Harrington Abel. Within two weeks of enrollment, Haney said her son began answering yes and no questions for the ﬁrst time in his life. “Fast forward fouryears, our son now 10, is talking up a storm and is mastering grade appropriate courses - reading, writing, math, everything.” Abel said that this kind of progress is not unusual at The Next Step

Academy but that it is a result of years of work in the ﬁeld and developing a model which addressed the whole child. She became interested in working with special needs children as the caregiver for twins, both of whom had autism. Abel attended the University of Houston and got a psychology degree, later volunteering at a local therapy center in Bellaire where she started to embrace a ground up approach to helping kids with autism. “I fell in love with the work,”she said. After working at another therapeutic organization that only did behavior analysis, Abel thought about branching off on her own. She also explored a wide range of therapies, studying educational kinesiology and becoming a licensed Brain Gym instructor and licensed Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT) International instructor. See Next Step, P. 2B

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Stop suffering Stop suffering from hip from or hip knee orpain. knee pain. Staying active is key Staying to staying activehealthy. is key toThat’s staying why healthy. at Memorial That’s why Hermann at Memorial Northwest Hermann Northwest Hospital, aﬃliatedHospital, joint specialists aﬃliateduse joint thespecialists most advanced use thetreatments most advanced to get treatments you on the to get you on the path to the life you path want to to thelive, life including you want to minimally live, including invasive minimally surgical options. invasive And surgical for options. And for the second time, our the second hospitaltime, has earned our hospital The Joint has Commission’s earned The Joint Gold Commission’s Seal of Approval® Gold Seal of Approval® for our knee replacement for our knee and replacement hip replacement and surgery. hip replacement surgery. Call 713.222.CARE Call 713.222.CARE (2273) or visit (2273) or visit memorialhermann.org/northwest memorialhermann.org/northwest to learn more. to learn more.

A D V A N C I NAGD VH AE N A LC TI N HG HEALTH

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