Residents who report symptoms of stroke may receive state-of-the-art, emergency care on site rather than having to wait to reach an emergency room now that Rush Oak Park Hospital has deployed a specially designed mobile ambulance in Oak Park.
The custom-built Rush Mobile Stroke Unit, one of only six in the nation, is equipped with technology and drug therapies that are critical to accurately diagnosing and immediately beginning treatment for stroke.
Patients typically cannot be treated until they get to an emergency department. But with the mobile stroke unit, immediate diagnosis and treatment can begin wherever there is need, which will improve chances of a good recovery.
The mobile stroke team will respond to 911 calls reporting symptoms indicating stroke and can perform CT scans of patients promptly upon arrival. Rush radiologists then analyze transmissions of these detailed brain images from the unit, allowing neurologists to evaluate the patients remotely and decide what kind of treatment is needed.
Critical care registered nurses staffing the mobile unit will administer the appropriate stroke medication after conferring with the stroke neurologist and then transport the patient to the most appropriate center.
The mobile stroke unit will respond in support of Oak Park firefighter/paramedics. For more information, email fire@oak-park.us.
![photo of Rush Oak Park Hospital mobile stroke unit](/sites/default/files/newsletters/photos/rush_mobile_stroke_unit.jpg)