SARASOTA & MANATEE COUNTIES (WSNN) – If you’re having a stroke, time is of the essence, and calling 911 could save your life.
If you have any of these signs…
“Is there Facial droop, is there Arm drip, is there Speech problems?” Manatee County EMS Chief James Crutchfield said.
You may be having a stroke. You need to act FAST and call 911.
“By the time you have a symptom, it’s an emergency,” Sarasota County EMS Assistant Chief, Carson Sanders said.
And lost time is a lost brain.
“If you don’t act timely, efficiently, someone could lose the ability to speak, eat, or enjoy the rest of their life,” Crutchfield said.
That’s why the paramedics in Sarasota and Manatee Counties have a system in place to get you treated as soon as possible. They start by sending a ‘Stroke Alert’ to the hospital.
“We’ll call over the radio, and we’ll let them know, ‘Hey, we have this patient coming, these are their symptoms, this is the age, this is the history, and this is when the onset of symptoms have occurred,'” Crutchfield said.
On the way to the closest hospital, they jump into action.
“We usually start an IV on the way, we run and EKG, make sure there’s nothing else going on,” Sanders said.
And since the care starts in the ambulance, Sanders says don’t waste those critical minutes driving yourself or your loved ones to the ER.
“Let us get those treatments started so that they can get the best care and the fastest care available,” Sanders said.
Because that’s what the EMTs are here for.
“Those kinds of critical emergencies are what makes the difference,” Sanders said. “It’s why we do what we do.”
Last year, Sarasota County had 636 stroke alerts, and Manatee County had nearly 685.
