Minnesota has 120 hospitals designated for treating stroke patients, but health leaders say more work is needed to reach underserved populations.
The region is getting a nearly $5 million grant to help address the gaps. The American Heart Association and the state health department announced the new funding this week.
Officials said the grant has two key components. One is a public awareness campaign to provide multilingual and culturally relevant messaging on the signs of stroke and preventive care.
Dr. Haitham Hussein, neurologist at the University of Minnesota and past board president, Twin Cities American Heart Association, said it will be crucial, because his research has shown some eye-opening disparities.
“There was a gap in arrival to the hospital,” Hussein explained. “Nonwhite individuals arrived much later, about eight hours later to the hospital when they had a stroke, compared to white individuals.”
He pointed out it means limited-English-speaking patients are not getting the necessary medication in quick enough fashion to reverse the effects of a stroke. Another priority of the grant is to implement care standards across the state for people recovering from a stroke, especially for those facing care gaps in rural settings.
Altogether, Hussein emphasized the bookends from the new investment should complement the work Minnesota has already done in building a stroke care system for the region.
“It really addresses gaps that we see every day in our practice,” Hussein stressed.
The American Heart Association said the funding, provided by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, will be spread across three years. It will also focus on data collection across diverse types of rehabilitation facilities as a way to guide future care improvements.