Communications Survey

National Stroke Association is always trying to reach everyone with news and stroke information in a variety of ways, but we want to deliver this information in ways YOU want to receive it. We also want to know about any new online technology that you’re interested in. To let us know more information about your needs and wants, please click here to take a survey.

Take Our Advice: Join SCN New Member Special

Become a Stroke Center Network member before March 31 and receive a free consultation with a Nurse Ambassador.

If your organization has been considering joining the Stroke Center Network (SCN) — now is the perfect time. National Stroke Association is currently offering a "Take Our Advice: Join SCN" new member special — which provides a free, 15-minute phone consultation with a SCN Nurse Ambassador to all organizations who join before March 31, 2009!

Our Nurse Ambassadors are active experts in acute stroke care and will be available to help you problem-solve issues related to primary stroke center development, management and certification or to discuss best practices with you and your stroke team.

In addition to the free consultation and other member benefits, all new members are granted free and immediate access to National Stroke Association's Stroke Nurse Education Modules — a collection of 10 accredited, online education programs designed for nurses new to stroke as well as seasoned veterans. The nurse modules are available now at www.stroke.org/strokenurse (non-member cost is $20/module).

New! Becoming a Primary Stroke Center: Story Installment Two

Last issue, we featured the first installment of a feature story about Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s efforts to achieve primary stroke center certification through The Joint Commission. A member of National Stroke Association’s SCN network, which is designed specifically for stroke teams dedicated to advancing stroke care at their facilities, this article tells the story of this hospital’s stroke program team’s two-and-a-half year journey to achieve certification. Stroke program director, David Palestrant, MD, and stroke program coordinator Laurie Paletz, RN, led a team of seven individuals through a series of ups-and-downs as they educated 10,000 employees and paved the way to ensuring every stroke patient is quickly navigated through the acute stroke pathway. Read the first and second installments of this hospital’s story by clicking here or visiting www.stroke.org/CedarsSinai. To find out more about how your hospital can become an SCN member, contact Lori Cavallo at: (303) 754-0954 or lcavallo@stroke.org.

Share the Love this Valentine's Day

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by participating in National Stroke Association’s “Share the Love” Firstgiving fundraising event throughout the month of February!

Don’t just tell your sweetheart how much you love them — donate $25 to National Stroke Association and challenge them to adopt a heart healthy lifestyle to reduce their risk for stroke!

Donate directly on www.firstgiving.com/nationalstrokeassociation (click the “Get Started” button) or set up a personalized page to tell your stroke story and set up a fundraiser, which you can email to everyone in your contacts list. Motivate your friends and colleagues to adopt a healthier lifestyle this month by skipping the box of sweets and giving to National Stroke Association.

Prefer to donate in another way? Here are some ideas:

• Donate online at www.stroke.org/donate or mail a check payable to National Stroke Association at: 9707 E. Easter Lane, Suite B, Centennial, CO 80112-3747.
• Join our Heritage Society by remembering National Stroke Association in your will. (Talk with your financial advisor for more details.)
• Make a donation in memory or honor of your sweetheart or another loved one.

National Stroke Awareness Month is on its way this May! Stay tuned for upcoming news, new web store products and downloadable information to help you celebrate 2009 National Stroke Awareness Month. We’ll have the perfect products for gifts and give-aways for your National Stroke Awareness Month activities. Visit http://www.stroke.org/ later this month for more information.

The goal of the annual campaign is to raise public awareness about the continuum of stroke by managing stroke risk, better understanding of stroke symptom recognition and response and improving the quality of life involved in stroke recovery. This year, our products and downloadable information are designed to help everyone:

• STOP primary and secondary stroke through risk factor management.
• Act FAST to increase recognition of and response to stroke symptoms.
• Spread HOPE about recovery from stroke.

Join National Stroke Association and Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant in celebrating Denver’s largest 2009 St. Patrick’s Day celebration by volunteering to help spread awareness about stroke! This year’s two-day celebration takes place on March 14 and March 17 and National Stroke Association is thrilled to be a beneficiary of this event for the fourth year in a row. With 9,000 people expected at this event, it’s a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about stroke to an audience who may not otherwise hear our message.

National Stroke Association supplies volunteers to perform a number of functions (eg, serve food and beverages, handle monetary transactions, attach entrance wristbands) on Saturday, March 14 and Tuesday, March 17. Join us today and volunteer to help bring attention to this worthy cause! In return for your valuable time, you will receive a FREE t-shirt, a FREE meal, FREE beverage and FREE entrance to enjoy the festivities when you are not working.

Click here for more information or to sign up now. You can also contact Teran at tnash@stroke.org, (303)754-0924 or Annalise at adezoete@stroke.org, (303) 754-0942.

National Stroke Association’s 3rd Annual Dance for Dignity is coming up this summer in Denver. This event is designed to give local survivors the opportunity to connect with others who have also overcome the adversity of stroke and to educate our community about stroke. We raised more than $12,000 last year. Help us make this year even better by becoming a member of the planning committee!

It’s Hollywood’s annual award season, so why not catch up on the latest award-winning short film about stroke? “Still Me” is dedicated to stroke awareness from the perspective of a stroke survivor and his family. Filmmaker Beth McElhenny uses her emotional and physical journey as a stroke survivor to tell the tale of one family’s struggle to cope with the cognitive and physical effects of a stroke and focuses on the main character’s fight to be heard.

“Still Me” won Best Short Film-Audience Award at Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, Best Family Film at Secret City Film Festival and Best Actor at the Spudfest Film Festival.

Click here or visit http://www.brookwoodfilms.com/ to preview the film or purchase a DVD (cost is $14.99 + sh [$3.25]). Throughout the month of February, a portion of the proceeds go to National Stroke Association.

National Stroke Association recently made production modifications to StrokeSmart™ magazine, causing the January/February edition to be slightly delayed. Please look forward to receiving your first 2009 issue within the next two weeks. To renew your subscription to StrokeSmart™ please visit www.stroke.org/MAG or call 1 (800) 787-6537.

Difficulty with movement and mobility after a stroke can be caused by a condition known as spasticity — a condition where tight or stiff muscles can make movement, especially of the arms and legs, difficult or uncontrollable. A National Stroke Association survey showed that nearly 60 percent of stroke survivors experience spasticity. National Stroke Association recently partnered with several organizations to create a program called, Exploring Spasticity, a resource and support for stroke survivors that includes an online community with spasticity information and online tools and resources to help manage treatment! Visit ExploringSpasticity.com and join the online community today to receive a complimentary 2009 calendar — created with people affected by spasticity for people with spasticity. Clinicians and support group leaders can order multiple calendars to share with stroke survivors with spasticity. Call (800) 731-2921 or visit the Web site for more information!

Are you a member of Facebook? Join National Stroke Association’s Facebook page today by clicking on the button. Meet friends and other stroke survivors through this easy-to-use social networking Web site.

National Stroke Association has several accredited stroke education programs to jump-start your 2009 CME/CE activities! Act now and visit www.stroke.org/meded. Some educational activities are available only to members of National Stroke Association’s SCN and/or Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery Network (SRN). For information about these membership programs and how to join, please contact Lori Cavallo at lcavallo@stroke.org or (303) 754-0954.

National Stroke Association is pleased to announce a new partnership with the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN). This partnership provides AANN members with discounted access to the Stroke Nurse Education Modules. AANN members pay only $15 per module, which is 25% off the regular price. Click here for more information about AANN.

Tired of spending loads of time searching for the MOST CURRENT stroke guidelines only to find you have to pay for them? http://www.medguidelines.org/ is your answer — it provides FREE and easily accessible stroke guideline recommendations and research. One easy search finds all relevant guideline recommendations and documents and recent trials and meta-analyses. Get evidence-based answers to your clinical questions! You can focus and sort results by date, region, evidence quality and rankings.

Visit the site today and give us feedback to help shape further development of this invaluable tool. Visit http://www.medguidelines.org/ and use the following passcode to get started: Parnassus. Send any feedback via the links on the site or by emailing feedback@medguidelines.org.

These accredited online modules are ideal for new and seasoned nurses and other providers committed to keeping their stroke knowledge and practice up-to-date. Topics range from "Stroke Anatomy and Physiology" to "Interpreting Stroke Imaging and Other Diagnostics." The Stroke Nurse Education Modules are available now at www.stroke.org/strokenurse for a $20 per module fee.

SCN members receive 30 free module uses every year and then continue to receive unlimited access for $10 per module — 50% off the regular price. SCN members can also track and report the module use of all individuals affiliated with their organizations. To learn more, view a demo course or access the modules, go to www.stroke.org/strokenurse. Contact National Stroke Association at scn@stroke.org or (303) 754-0908 for more information about the modules or about becoming an SCN member.

Our February newsletter traditionally focuses on promoting physical fitness and how it relates to lowering stroke risk. According to a study published in Neurology, people between the ages of 40 and 79 who can do basic physical tasks might be 50% less likely to have a stroke.