Emergency Medical Services for Stroke
With a stroke, calling 911 can save a life. Care often starts in the ambulance and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is the first healthcare provider in contact with an assumed stroke patient. These professionals are a critical part of the stroke team and a vital link in a patient’s survival and long-term functioning.
The Minnesota Department of Health is working with EMS agencies to find ways to improve statewide stroke care provided in the ambulance, promote notifying hospitals to activate their stroke systems, and use best practices and stroke protocols.
EMS Quality Improvement Awards
Successful and effective stroke treatment by EMS requires a commitment to continuous quality improvement. These efforts drive the quality of care delivered to stroke patients – which leads to better outcomes. EMS agencies in Minnesota are an integral part of the system providing timely patient care and alerting the receiving hospitals of an incoming stroke patient. This award program aims to recognize and showcase successful quality improvement projects throughout the state of Minnesota.
Quality Improvement Award recipients
EMS Quality Improvement Awards 2023
EMS Quality Improvement Awards 2022
Improvement strategies
Coordinating stroke care between EMS agencies and stroke-ready hospital emergency departments (ED) means aligning approaches and implementing best practices for optimal stroke care. The following strategies are designed to provide tools to EMS agencies that will help achieve that goal.
Large vessel occlusions
EMS is frequently the first contact with a suspected stroke patient in the community. The rapid triage, assessment, and identification of a suspected stroke and stroke severity in the field is crucial as stroke treatment options are time sensitive. Studies show that patients who receive treatment recover faster. There are two main treatment options for ischemic strokes; IV thrombolytic therapy and endovascular thrombectomy, also known as mechanical thrombectomy, for strokes caused by large vessel occlusion.
MDH has created resources to assist agencies in implementing large vessel occlusion protocols to their system:
- Evidence-based Strategies for Stroke Identification in the Pre-Hospital Setting with Use of a Stroke Severity Tool (PDF)
- Stroke Severity Screening Guide (PDF)
SimMan® EMS Time Critical Simulation Training Program
SimMan® is a patient simulator that trainers use to create more realistic stroke scenarios. The Minnesota Stroke Program is supporting simulation training in the seven rural EMS regions in Minnesota by providing one SimMan® to each region and training EMS educators to create and provide effective simulation-based learning opportunities.
eLearning
The Minnesota Stroke Program developed an accredited eLearning course to focus on training on stroke risk factors, EMS care, hospital care and rehabilitation. The target audience for this course are EMTs and Paramedics. It is now available at no charge! This course is worth 1.25 continuing education credits. To take this course, go to the Minnesota Department of Health Learning Management portal and search for the “Acute Stroke Treatment Refresher Course.”
Exploring data
Linking stroke cases from the Minnesota Stroke Registry to ambulance runs in MNSTAR Minnesota State Ambulance Reporting System allows us to follow a case from the 911 call through their hospital care. Analyzing these trends helps us identify areas of the state where we can provide additional training and support to improve outcomes.
Public awareness
EMS plays an important role in educating the public on the signs and symptoms of a stroke and the need to activate emergency services. The MDH Stroke Program developed the Every Second Counts Stroke Awareness Campaign to provide public awareness tools for our EMS and hospital partners.
For questions, email: health.stroke@state.mn.us.
Resources: Find all of the documents, tools, guidance documents, and resources produced by the Stroke Program for our partners.