Northwest Missouri is gaining new life-saving technology that changes the playing field for emergent stroke patients when mere minutes make a world of difference.
After years of planning and 11 months of construction, Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph unveiled a new interventional neurology and neuroendovascular program on January 8. Mosaic is becoming a top-level primary stroke care facility by launching new and innovative stroke technologies.
“I am thrilled about the expansion of our neuroendovascular program,” said Mosaic CEO Mike Poore, FACHE. “This is a significant step forward in our ability to provide cutting-edge, minimally invasive treatments for our patients. Our commitment to the best technology and expanding access to advanced care for our communities has never been stronger.”
Program expansion means new stroke technologies with a biplane medical device for both neurology and cardiology procedures, including thrombectomies (clot retrieval procedures for stroke patients). Additionally, Mosaic can perform other invasive and noninvasive procedures such as carotid stenting and preventive angiograms in an interventional suite as opposed to an operating room.
“We’re picking up the fruit of everything we planted,” said Dr. Abdallah Amireh, MD, interventional neurologist, who joined Mosaic in August. “It’s been a long journey. It’s extremely gratifying to see it in action now.”
Amireh is quick to point out every time his team brings a patient into that room their sole focus is providing the best care to that individual.
“We’re going to be helping save lives and improving patients’ quality of lives,” said Amireh. “This is emotional for me. This is what I’ve been waiting toward the past two years.”
Amireh adds the investment Mosaic is making for patients says a lot.
“Patients will receive life-saving treatments with quicker response times during stroke,” said Amireh. “There is no longer a reason for any patient to go anywhere else.”
Time is brain
Amireh says people won’t have to travel beyond St. Joseph, which saves critical time if you’re having a life-threatening stroke. Time is brain. The sooner a stroke victim receives treatment, the better the chances of preventing severe brain damage.
The new lab includes a biplane medical device with 3D imaging, allowing Amireh and his team to look at the brain as an entire sphere. This gives a complete picture of the situation to troubleshoot in a matter of minutes, when it matters most.
“Every minute a patient is having a stroke they are losing millions of brain cells,” said Amireh. “So, we want to make sure that we can reduce that time and provide as much emergent care as we can for our loved ones here in our community and we have everything we need to provide that.”
New procedure
New technology, along with Amireh’s specialized training, now allows for thrombectomy procedures at Mosaic.
Amireh explains a thrombectomy, or mechanical clot retrieval, is the optimal treatment; surgically removing a blood clot with a catheter in an artery caused by an ischemic stroke and immediately restoring blood flow to the brain.
“It’s a minimally invasive surgery that’s a powerful alternative when blood thinners and clot-busting drugs aren’t enough,” said Amireh. “A thrombotic stroke is one of the most common types of stroke and blocks blood flow to the brain tissue it supplies. If you must travel south to centers in Kansas City, bypassing Mosaic, that means more time lost. Our new facility and addition of new thrombectomy procedures are changing the playing field.”