For Treating Severe Strokes, All Hospitals Aren’t Equal
A revolutionary procedure called thrombectomy can treat severe strokes, but most hospitals in the U.S. don’t perform it
An advanced procedure called 'thrombectomy' is transforming stroke care in America. It can be used to treat the most severe stroke patients -- but timing is critical. Photo/Video: Madeline Marshall/The Wall Street Journal
Providence, R.I.
People who suffer severe strokes here can avoid the worst if stricken within a 30-minute ambulance ride to Rhode Island Hospital, the region’s only comprehensive stroke-treatment facility.
Just across the Taunton River in Massachusetts, patients even closer to Rhode Island Hospital aren’t so lucky. There, state emergency-medicine...