Growth of Regional Acute Stroke Systems of Care in the United States in the First Decade of the 21st Century

Stroke.ahajournals.org: June 5, 2012.

Background and Purpose—States and counties in the US began implementing regional systems of acute stroke care in the first decade of the 21st century, whereby emergency medical services systems preferentially route acute stroke patients directly to primary stroke centers. The pace, geographic range, and population reach of regional stroke system implementation has not been previously delineated.

Methods—We performed a review of legislative archives, internet and media reports, consultation with American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and Centers for Disease Control staff, and phone interviews with state public health and emergency medical service officials from each of the 50 states. Read more