A stroke can cause brain damage within minutes. Receiving expert care immediately can make all the difference in recovery.
Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) affiliates in Panama and Colombia saw the need to elevate stroke care in their countries and sought our support. We connected them with Victor Urrutia, director of the comprehensive Stroke Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and JHI’s medical director for the affiliation with Pacífica Salud Hospital Punta Pacífica in Panama, to help them achieve milestones in their stroke care.
Pacífica Salud launched its stroke program in 2017, working closely with Urrutia, Brenda Johnson—manager of the Comprehensive Stroke Center—and clinical nurse specialists Elizabeth Zink and Lisa Klein.
The team is seeking Joint Commission International program certification as it continues to improve the care of stroke patients and educate the public on recognizing stroke symptoms.
In Colombia, the Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá (FSFB) Stroke Center, accredited in 2016, continues to strengthen its stroke care with our support. Urrutia participated in FSFB’s second stroke conference in 2017, attracting 217 participants. Zink and Klein taught the second stroke education course to 130 nurses at FSFB. While in Colombia, Urrutia and Johnson visited Universidad de La Sabana, where Urrutia gave a talk on best outcomes in acute stroke care.
FSFB completed an informal review of its stroke unit as part of our collaborative efforts to create a stroke network in Bogotá.
This post highlights content from JHI’s FY17-FY18 Impact Report, Realizing the Mission. Read the full report and check out this video to learn more about our transformational work in international collaborative health from the last two fiscal years.
