05-19-2024 Family Caregiver - Flipbook - Page 20
STROKE AWARENESS
May is Stroke Awareness Month and in honor of
this, on May 1, 2022, Governor Hogan declared
Maryland a “Stroke Smart State”, encouraging
everyone that lives and works in Maryland to
learn how to recognize the signs of a stroke
and understand the importance of calling 911
immediately. On August 22, 2022, Mayor Becker
declared Westminster a “Stroke Smart City”
and then on October 28, 2022, Carroll County
was declared a “Stroke Smart County”, only the
2nd City and County in the state to hold this
designation. The goal of being “Stroke Smart” is
to improve stroke awareness in our community
members, so that they can recognize a stroke
and they will know what to do.
Stroke is a brain attack, it is a medical emergency
and 911 needs to be called immediately when a
stroke is suspected. Stroke occurs when a blood
vessel in or leading to the brain is blocked or
when there is bleeding in or around the brain.
There is a very small window of time that you can
be treated for a stroke, the longer you wait to be
treated the more brain damange can occur; we
lose 2 million brain cells every minute during a
stroke. “Time is Brain”, every minute counts, don’t
delay, call 911 right away!
Learning to recognize the signs of a stroke
is the first step, “BE FAST”
Stroke
Smart
MARYLAND
SPOT-A-STROKE
SAVE-A-LIFE
B
Does the person have a
BALANCE sudden loss of balance
or coordination?
E
EYE
Is the person experiencing double vision or are
they unable to see out
of one eye?
F
FACE
Ask the person to smile.
Does one side of the
face droop?
A
ARM
Ask the person to raise
both arms. Does one
side drift downward?
SPEECH
Ask the person to
repeat a simple phrase.
Is his or her speech
slurred or strange?
S
Understanding what to do once you suspect a
stroke is just as important, CALL 911.
Calling 911, ensures that you will be evaluated
and transported to the appropriate hospital that
can treat you for a stroke; not all hospitals can
treat stroke patients. Carroll Hospital is a Primary
Stroke Center and we are able to care for stroke
patients. Seeking immediate treatment for a
stroke may help prevent death and severe longterm disability related to stroke. Treatments are
available; unfortunately 80% of all patients that
arrive to the hospital with stroke symptoms
are already outside of the window of time for
treatment.
Free resources and training is available on the
MIEMSS website, Stroke Smart Resource Center
(miemss.org); learn how to be stroke smart,
how to stay stroke smart and how to be a stroke
champion so we can all learn how to “Spot A
Stroke”, “Stop A Stroke”, and “Save A Life”
Source: Melissa Caylor, MBA, BSN, RN,
RN Stroke Program Coordinator
Carroll Hospital, A LifeBridge Health Center
Primary Stroke Center
20
CEN,
STOP-A-STROKE
T
911 TIME
If you observe any of
these signs call 9-1-1
immediately.
Every second counts, call 9-1-1 right away.
MIEMSS Stroke Smart
Resource page QR code
SCRN
2024 – 2025 Carroll County Bureau of Aging & Disabilities Resource Guide
