Three community stroke awareness programs during October and November
| For Immediate Release | Contact: Joyce Faria Brennan |
| October 1, 2007 | 508-961-5270 |
| brennanj@southcoast.org | |
 Get this release in Word format |
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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Southcoast Hospitals will be presenting three stroke awareness programs during the months of October and November. The programs are presented by physician stroke directors from each of the Southcoast hospitals and are aimed at educating the community on the risk, prevention and symptoms of stroke.
"Act FAST: Save a Life — Understanding & Preventing Stroke" is free to the public. The stroke seminars presented by area physicians will explain the risk factors of stroke and how it can be prevented, identify how to recognize the signs and symptoms and explain how to minimize the effects of stroke by acting FAST. Stroke survivors will also be on hand to share their experience and recoveries.
Free screenings will be offered for total cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure screenings. All programs are free and include light refreshments, educational information, giveaways and free raffles.
- WESTPORT: Wednesday, October 24, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at White's of Westport, 66 State Road in Westport, Mass. Featuring Farrel Douglas, MD, Stroke Director at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River.
- ACUSHNET: Wednesday, November 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at The Century House, 107 South Main Street in Acushnet, Mass. Featuring John Stamouilis, MD, Stroke Director at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford.
- ONSET: Thursday, November 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Bay Pointe Country Club, 19 Bay Pointe Drive in Onset, Mass. Featuring Nancy Edwards, MD, Stroke Director at Tobey Hospital in Wareham.
Southcoast Hospitals Group Primary Stroke Services
The three Southcoast hospitals, Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham, are designation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) as a provider of Primary Stroke Services. The state's designation assures that the Southcoast Hospitals' emergency diagnostic and therapeutic services are provided by a multidisciplinary team and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to patients presenting with symptoms of acute stroke. The greatest limitation to current stroke therapy is the time delay before patients seek treatment.
If you have symptoms of stroke, seek care immediately and call 911.
For more information about stroke care and prevention visit www.southcoast.org/stroke/.
About Southcoast
Southcoast Health System, a not-for-profit charitable organization, is a community based health delivery system with multiple access points, offering an integrated continuum of advanced health services throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes Southcoast Hospitals Group, formed in 1996 from the merger of Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.
Southcoast has more than 40 ancillary facilities, including the Southcoast Health Van, home health care, hospice and infusion services, numerous outpatient medical services, an assisted living facility and a wellness center. For more information visit www.southcoast.org.
Southcoast is one of three community hospitals approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to perform open heart surgery and primary angioplasty beginning in Spring 2002.
Media Contact
Joyce Faria Brennan
Public Information Officer
Phone: 508-961-5270
Pager: 508-387-9605
Fax: 508-961-5876
brennanj@southcoast.org
