Page 2 - Stroke Care and Research | University of Rochester

Changing the Landscape of Stroke

Dr. Robert G. Holloway, Every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke. At this rate, it
Edward A. and Alma Vollertsen Rykenboer is estimated that by 2030, 11 million people over the age of 20 years old will
have suffered a stroke. Beyond the staggering individual impact of stroke,
Chair in Neurophysiology there are significant underlying social and economic effects. Currently,
Chair, Department of Neurology two-thirds of the American population knows someone who has had a
Professor of Neurology and Public Health Sciences stroke, and nearly half of those people provided some form of care or
and Dr. Webster H. Pilcher, assistance to a stroke victim. The annual total cost of stroke care in Monroe
Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery and County and surrounding regional counties is more than $228 million.
Ernest & Thelma Del Monte Distinguished
Today, the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) is helping
Professor in Neuromedicine to change the landscape of stroke. Over the past decade, we have been a
source of stroke expertise and leadership in western New York. Our multi-
ON THE COVER: system approach, collaborative initiatives, and cutting-edge research are
allowing us to provide some of the most advanced, cost effective care for
Babak Jahromi, M.D., Ph.D., FRCSC, stroke patients available. In state-of-the-art facilities, we are employing new
and Curtis G. Benesch, M.D., M.P.H., imaging technologies that enable us to visualize viable brain tissue, and we
Co-Directors of the Stroke Program, are using innovative devices that enhance our ability to remove blood clots
review angiographs of the blood flow from the brain. With the help of these and other medical advancements,
in a stroke patient’s brain from before including the expanded time windows for acute treatment, we are
and after treatment. providing world-class care for stroke patients.

These improvements, coupled with educational programming, empower
our collaborative partnerships, such as the Stroke Treatment Alliance of
Rochester, which ultimately enable us to increase stroke awareness and
care for patients beyond the walls of our hospital. In order to take the
stroke program at the URMC to the next level, we must capitalize on this
momentum. Stroke care and the needed research are entering a revolution,
and we are positioned to be among its leaders!

Fostering New Collaborations: Stroke Patients Get a New STAR

In 2007, URMC Drs. Webster H. Pilcher, Curtis Benesch, and Babak Jahromi began a process that facilitated
collaboration between stroke teams from Strong Memorial, Highland, Rochester General, and Unity hospitals. The
result was the formation of an initiative unique to New York State: the Stroke Treatment Alliance of Rochester (STAR).

With support from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, the STAR initiative is working to standardize stroke
patient evaluation, treatment, and transfer to ensure the delivery of immediate, comprehensive, and cost effective care
across multiple health care systems for stroke patients. With the creation of a community-wide data registry to share
outcomes and practices, STAR is helping to redefine stroke care as we know it.