Pocono Mountain Regional EMS April 2019 Newsletter

A PR I L 2 019

PMREMS newsletter

regionalresource

Regional Recognition S

haring the spotlight and spreading the word; Pocono Mountain Regional Emergency Medical Services extends a great big thank you for all to be heard alongside those who assist as emergency response resources for our community. From the tremendous talent on our own team; to those

fellow pros on-scene recognized at LVHN’s Hero Night Another thank you goes out to all of YOU! While awards and other sorts of recognition is not expected; it sure is an amazing feeling when residents extend applause... it’s all about COMMUNITY.

P oco n o M ou nta in R eg io n a l E m e rg e n cy M e dica l S e rv ice s

IN THIS EDITION 2

Heroes Night

3

LVHN: Ask the Doctor

4

A Look at Community

5

Subscription Drive

6

A Community Golf Go Invitation

Announcement

Facts About Strokes

Applauding Easter Success Description Connection

Stay connected

for videos, photos and up to the minute news

HERO NIGHT OF HONORING THE POCONO EMS HEROES

Proud Part of

HERO Save the Date

Thursday March 28, 2019 NIGHT OF HONORING THE POCONO EMS HEROES

Cocktails (Cash Bar) Save the Date 5:30 p.m.

Hors d’oeuvres: Dinner: 6:30 p.m.

Thursday

Where proceeds March 28, 2019 Camelback Resort (Grand Ballroom) from last month’s event will go Cost: $100 Cocktails (Cashper Bar)person toward the costs Hors d’oeuvres: 5:30 p.m.

Please make checks payable to LVHN–Pocono Foundation.

Dinner: 6:30 p.m. for needed

For event or sponsorship information, contact Marynell Strunk equipment for Camelback Resort (Grand or Ballroom) at Marynell.Strunk@lvhn.org 570-476-3629.

Cost: $100 per person

EMS providers like

LVHN–Pocono Foundation Pocono Mountain Please make checks 206 payable to LVHN–Pocono Foundation.

East Brown Street Regional EMS For event or sponsorship information, contact Marynell Strunk East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 at Marynell.Strunk@lvhn.org or 570-476-3629.

Thank You to Our Team serving the All proceeds from this event will go toward the costs for needed equipment Pocono area Event Host for EMS providers serving the Pocono area.

&

LVHN–Pocono Foundation 206 East Brown Street East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

All proceeds from this event will go toward the costs for needed equipment for EMS providers serving the Pocono area.

Ask the Doctor

What you need to know about strokes

Q

: I’ve heard a lot about strokes in the news lately. Can you tell me more about the risk factors for a stroke?

damaged from aging or from years of high blood pressure. Any time a stroke occurs, it’s important to know the cause of the stroke to determine the best course of treatment.

A: Sowmya Lakshminarayanan, MD, Neurologist for LVH–Pocono Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world and fifth in the United States, creating mobility challenges and difficulties performing everyday tasks and activities. Strokes do not necessarily impact only adults. Younger patients with no obvious risk factors can suffer stroke due to lees obvious reasons such as an intractable migraines that increases the risk for arterial tear or an occult heart condition like Patent foramen ovale (PFO), whole hole in the heart. Everyone is born with this hole between the left and right upper chambers of the heart, but the hole usually closes soon after birth. However, approximately 20 percent of patients whose PFO never closed, are more at increased risk for stroke than the general population.

• Muscles: difficulty walking, instability, paralysis or weak muscles of one part or one side of the body, problems with coordination

Risk Factors Strokes happen for two different reasons: 1) Ischemic. This is the most common cause (85 percent) in which blood flow to the brain is affected either due to sudden blockage or severe narrowing, from either a blood clot or a buildup of a fatty substance called plaque in the blood supply to the brain. Ischemic strokes (sometimes called “brain attacks”), like heart attacks, are preventable, eg: living a healthy lifestyle that includes diet modification, exercising and not smoking.

2) The other 15 percent of strokes called hemorrhagic strokes are caused by blood leaking into the brain or between the brain and the skull.

This type of strokes happen when an artery leading to the brain bursts because it is weak or

Signs and Symptoms of Stroke People may experience one or more of the following symptoms – some may occur suddenly:

• Visual: blurred vision, double vision, sudden visual loss, or temporary loss of vision in one eye • Speech: difficulty speaking, slurred speech, or speech loss • Sensory: pins and needles or reduced sensation of touch to one part or side of the body • Facial: muscle weakness or numbness • Other symptoms: difficulty swallowing, headache, inability to understand, mental confusion, lightheadedness or vertigo It’s also helpful to remember FAST, which is an acronym for a rapid assessment of anyone with signs/symptoms of stroke and stands for: • F: Facial muscle weakness or numbness ( Smile to see whether the face is symmetrical without dropping on either side) • A: Arm muscle weakness or numbness ( Raise both arms to see if it can be held in the air without it drifting down) • S: Speaking difficulty - slurred or loss of speech (Speak a sentence and see if it is normal) • T: Time of onset of symptoms ( precise timing is important for triaging and treatment) Treatment and Prevention With a stroke, essentially “TIME IS BRAIN.” The treatment for ischemic stroke is aimed at restoring the blood flow to the brain. Quick

Sowmya Lakshminarayanan, MD, is a triple board certified Neurologist & Medical director of Neuroscience program at LVPG NeurologyPocono at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono. Dr. Lakshminarayanan is the chair of the Joint Commission Accredited Advanced Primary stroke program at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono.

treatment not only improves one’s chances of survival but may also reduce complications Therapy with clot-busting drugs must start within 4.5 hours of symptom onset if they are given into the vein — and sooner the better. Sometimes ischemic strokes are treated with interventional procedures that are performed directly inside the blocked blood vessel. These procedures must be performed as soon as possible, depending on features of the blood clot.

The treatment of hemorrhagic stroke: focuses on controlling the cause of bleeding and reducing pressure within the brain. Some patients might need prompt surgery to help reduce immediate complications or future risk.

Stroke has a lot in common, risk-wise with other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and high cholesterol.

Here are at least three ways to strike out and help prevent a second stroke: • Quit smoking • Incorporate a healthy diet along with exercise • Take all medications as prescribed • Last but not the least, regular follow up with health care providers Suffering one stroke makes it a lot more likely that there is a possibility of another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke in a year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.

However, recurrence depends on the underlying cause of the initial stroke, control of risk factors and compliance with treatment.

May is Stroke Awareness Month, where American Heart Association (AHA) American Stroke Association ( ASA) National Stroke Association ( NSA) dedicate time to public awareness and education about stroke and how to recognize stroke symptoms, identify risk factors and help reduce the incidence of stroke.

Another

eggcellent Event EMS Community

annual easter

egg hunt it was a

great day for our area

families

There’s

Still

TIME DRIVE to SubscriBE

fo r the

Pocono Mountain Regional EMS is there 24/7, 365 days a year committed to serving our community. Your support makes it possible to have the highest qualified ambulance personnel and life saving equipment.

Signing up is CONVENIENT FAST

EASIER THAN EVER

Responding to over 6900 emergency in 2018 shows an increasing need for our services. As call volume increases so do operating costs. To help offset these costs and continue to give the quality of care you deserve we turn to our community for help.

an You CMail-in with a check payment Transportation as part of your $75 Subscription covers Emergency Ambulance Services.

Emergency Services are generated through the 911 system.

Ambulance transportation of an emergency nature is limited to emergency ambulance transport to the closest appropriate medical facility and is deemed to be “medically necessary” by the applicable insurance plan in which the subscriber is enrolled.

DOWLNLOAD A

SIGNUP FORM

Subscriptions last JUNE 1, 2019 THRU

MAY 31, 2020

Can You Make an additional contribution

? t e Y l i a M e h t n i Didn’t Get a Form

CLICK HERE TO DO A

DONATION ONLINE EMAIL

INFO@PMREMS.ORG

MAY 31 2019

GOLF FUNDRAISER Presented by

Join Pocono Mountain Regional EMS on course to achieving another successful initiative geared toward fundraising for our nonprofit while interacting with an awesome network of corporate and private participants May 31, 2019 at Buck Hill Golf Club! Enjoy a luncheon, time with your team of four on this beautiful course, and an amazing dinner after.

GATHER

your

FOUR

learn more

Contact Nick DeWitt ndewitt@pmrems.org

GOLF TEAM SIGNUPS

Headquarters135 Tegawitha Road, Tobyhanna, PA 18466 WebPMREMS.org Phone570.839.8485 EMAILINFO@PMREMS.ORG