Keywords

acute stroke care, collaborative practice, designated stroke unit, stroke clinical pathway, stroke outcome measurement, stroke unit development

 

Authors

  1. Summers, Debbie MSN, RN
  2. Soper, Patricia A. BSN, MBA, RN

Abstract

Saint Luke's Hospital is a 642-bed urban, tertiary, teaching hospital in metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri. In 1992, Saint Luke's developed a "Collaborative Care" program supported by tools such as clinical paths as a means to assure quality stroke care and to continually improve outcomes. This article describes the development of a comprehensive Collaborative Care Program for stroke patients, highlights the development of a dedicated stroke unit, and stroke clinical path, and describes the clinical and fiscal outcomes from these efforts.