By Michele Deluca
Someone without medical expertise might call them “Super Beds.”
The experts simply consider them important equipment for tending stroke patients and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center hopes to be able to purchase more of them.Called “M-series Stretchers,” the beds fortify the treatment of stroke patients with features including a motor for swift movement by a single staffer and a built-in scale so that life-saving medication can be delivered according to a person’s weight without moving the patient to a scale.
Currently there is a demo bed in the Stroke Unit at NFMMC and a second bed in the emergency department and the hospital hopes to purchase several more beds.
There is a saying among medical professionals, “Time is brain,” meaning that stroke victims brains are in greater danger the longer they remain untreated, said Laura Hickey, Director of Emergency Services at the medical center. “Getting a patient to the stroke center to perform a CAT scan has to be done very quickly by one staffer,” Hickey said.
“Clot buster studies show that the earlier you give the medication, the better the results,” said Dr. Nyathappa Anand, medical director of the stroke center.
Hospital officials expect the beds will help fortify the facility’s recent designation as a stroke center in Niagara County. The prestigious designation from the state Department of Health, means that emergency responders bring area patients with stroke symptoms to NFMMC, which has been certified to have the experts and expertise to treat stoke patients.
If a patient is admitted to the emergency room with stroke symptoms, time is of the essence, and that is where the “super beds” come in.Not only are the beds easy to move, but they are also equipped with special mattresses that provide extra comfort and prevent skin breakdown common to older stroke patients. The beds also have alarms which sound if a confused patient attempts to rise from the bed.
The hospital foundation is hoping to raise $150,000 during their annual fund-raising efforts this year. Some of that money will go to purchase several new beds. The remainder will be used towards the purchase an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) unit for the hospital. Currently patients have to go to the hospital’s Wheatfield facility to get an MRI and officials hope to raise 1.8 million for an in-house MRI.
Administrators also hope the fund raising campaign will raise awareness of the hospital’s designation as a stroke center.
The 2010 campaign will be led by two co-chairs, Dr. James Moore and Lucy Muto, vice president of HSBC bank. The fundraising will commence shortly with a mail-based solicitation to those on the hospital’s extensive data base, Berggren said.
