News

The UR Medicine Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) is now being dispatched to provide stroke care to patients throughout Monroe County. The MSU had been operating on a pilot basis in the City of Rochester since its launch in October 2018.

The MSU, which is operated in partnership with American Medical Response (AMR) and is the only unit of its kind in upstate New York, serves as an "emergency department on wheels" and brings the medical expertise and technology necessary to diagnose and treat stroke directly to the patient. Immediate care is essential during a stroke, during which millions of brain cells die every minute. However, if caught early, many stroke victims can make a full recovery.

It is estimated that 3,000 people in Monroe County suffer from a stroke every year. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and the number one cause of long-term disability in the U.S.

The MSU is equipped with a portable CT scanner that scans the patient's brain to determine the type of stroke they are experiencing. These scans and results from a mobile lab on the unit are transmitted to stroke experts at UR Medicine's Comprehensive Stroke Center at Strong Memorial Hospital, who consult via an on board teleconferencing system with the EMS personnel and determine if treatment -- in the form of the clot busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) -- can be administered immediately on scene.

"The ability to diagnose and start care in a patient's driveway is a game changer for our region," said Tarun Bhalla, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Surgery at the UR Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center and director of the Mobile Stroke Unit initiative. "We are grateful to our partners in the EMS community for their cooperation in making this lifesaving technology available to stroke patients across Monroe County."

"The sooner patients receive care, the more likely they are to return to their lives," said Curtis Benesch, M.D., M.P.H., Chief of Stroke and Medical Director of the UR Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center. "The time saved by delivering care directly to a stroke patient on scene can mean the difference between recovery of function or a lifetime of disability."

The MSU is dispatched by the City of Rochester/Monroe County 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center in coordination with the following EMS agencies:

• Brighton Volunteer Ambulance
• Churchville Fire Department Rescue Squad
• CHS Mobile Integrated Health Care (Chili, Henrietta, Scottsville, Caledonia)
• Gates Volunteer Ambulance
• Greece Volunteer Ambulance
• Hilton Fire Department Ambulance
• Honeoye Falls-Mendon Volunteer Ambulance
• Irondequoit Ambulance
• Monroe Ambulance
• Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support
• Penfield Volunteer Emergency Ambulance Service
• Perinton Ambulance
• Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance
• Point Pleasant Fire Department Ambulance
• Rush Fire Department Ambulance
• RIT Ambulance
• Seabreeze Fire Department Ambulance
• Union Hill Volunteer Ambulance
• Webster Emergency Medical Services

"AMR is proud to partner with the University of Rochester and Monroe County to expand the available care options in Monroe County," said Tim Frost, regional director for AMR Western New York. "We are focused on providing the best possible care for the communities we serve, and bringing this new technology to the area is a testament to that."

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), Burke Neurological Institute, and Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) have been awarded a $5 million grant from the Empire State Development Corporation to speed the development of ground-breaking neurological treatments for those disabled from stroke.

The project is a part of the NeuroCuresNY (NCNY) initiative, a new non-profit formed by the three institutions to accelerate the discovery of novel treatments for chronic neurological impairment and disability. The new state funding will support a two-year pilot study that will be launched in January 2020. This study design will be unique because it will test the efficacy of state-of-the-art robotic-assisted rehabilitation technology combined with drugs to improve the functional recovery of stroke patients.

Neurological conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury permanently disable more than one million people each year in the U.S., and stroke is the nation's leading cause of disability. Clinical trials for neurological disabilities and impairments are usually passed over because of unclear results, high costs, and challenges in recruiting participants. NCNY will seek to lower the barriers to participation in clinical trials by assisting with travel funding for patients, while providing a supportive and guiding environment for patients and their families.

Clinical and research faculty from URMC Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation will collaborate with the UR Neurorestoration Institute during the pilot study.