Nurses and nurse practitioners from Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care attended the AANN annual conference and presented well-received information about practices in place for stroke care throughout Baptist Health. The team, led by Nurse Practitioner Ashley Bolling, Stroke Program manager for Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, led several sessions to showcase innovative stroke care. 

 

Ms. Bolling, who is a doctor of nursing, and Kim Lutas, R.N., manager of the Stroke Program at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, presented about the importance of community education programs and differences in the FAST and BEFAST acronyms to support the early identification of stroke symptoms and the activation of stroke responses in the community. 

 

Stroke Coordinator and Nurse Practitioner Nina Cruz, along with Baptist Hospital neuro unit's Monique Sanchez, R.N., and David Smith, R.N., assistant nurse manager, presented to a packed room the model, in practice at Baptist Health, that uses high-performing stroke nurses to respond to all stroke alerts, audit patients at the Comprehensive Stroke Center, perform discharge follow-up calls and deliver hospital- and system-wide education to consistently improve interdisciplinary collaboration and advance patient outcomes across care environments. 

 

Ms. Cruz also presented with Delilah Cetoute, R.N., stroke coordinator at South Miami Hospital, about how the intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) alert protocol can enhance the timeliness of care at both comprehensive and primary stroke centers.  

 

The AANN annual conference brings together hundreds of neuroscience nurses from across the United States to learn and expand their practice with innovative approaches to care delivery.