萝莉社

Dedicated stroke services will soon hit the streets of Jacksonville. A new Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit, or MTSU 鈥� the first of its kind in the city 鈥� was unveiled two weeks ago by 萝莉社 Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

萝莉社 is the first health system in Florida to launch a mobile stroke program. The first unit went into service in Gainesville in July 2023. A third is planned for 萝莉社 Central Florida.

Benjamin Alwood, MD, a University of Florida assistant professor of vascular neurology at 萝莉社 in Jacksonville, has been part of the team working to bring a mobile unit to Jacksonville.

鈥淭he MTSU will bring cutting edge-stroke treatment to Northeast Florida providing prehospital treatment for hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, ensuring patients have the quickest and most effective care possible,鈥� Alwood said. He will serve as the Jacksonville-based medical director of the program, with Lindsey Perrotta, DNP, RN, SCRN, serving as manager.

This specialized ambulance puts technologies and health teams on the road seven days a week, 24-hours a day. The mobile unit is equipped with stroke-trained personnel, specialized medications and a portable CT scanner that can capture full brain images in real time. Those images can then be evaluated immediately by the onboard team and discussed virtually with a neurologist from our comprehensive stroke center via telemedicine equipment.

Once a diagnosis is verified, medical treatment can begin at the scene or while in transit to a medical facility. Research shows that stroke medications are most effective when given within the first hour after a stroke to improve a patient鈥檚 chance for recovery and reduce the potential for long-lasting disabilities.