In treating a stroke, minutes — and even seconds — matter to preserve neurons that are vital to motor function and preserving life.
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s (UTHSC) Mobile Stroke Unit, a veritable “emergency room on wheels” with hospital-grade CT imaging technology, helps lessen the time period between when a call is made about a stoke to a patient getting treatment.
The Mobile Stroke Unit launched in 2016, with more than $3 million for up to three years from a public/private collaboration. Today, the mobile unit is also getting more time, as The Assisi Foundation of Memphis is awarding it a $1.1 million grant.
Housed at a fire station at 980 E. McLemore Ave., the Mobile Stroke Unit responds to an average of four to five potential stroke cases each day. To date, the unit has answered more than 1,000 calls and transported 392 patients who had symptoms consistent with a stroke.