Wayne H. - A Story from National Stroke Association

Wayne H.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
By: Nancy Hart

Healthcare Professional

Wayne Hodges, stroke outreach educator for the Neuroscience Institute at Shands Jacksonville, works tirelessly to promote stroke awareness in the community of Jacksonville, Florida. He has been an active member of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/NIH Know Stroke in the Community Stroke Champion program since 2006 and has developed an innovative and progressive plan for the Jacksonville community.

Wayne served as a mentor and coordinated the efforts of local Girl Scout troop 750 who conducted more than 20 Know Stroke presentations, participated in a health fair, and went on to win the coveted Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting.

photo of first pitch at Strike Out Stroke event in Jacksonvi

First pitch tossed by 19 year old stroke survivor at April 26, 2011 “Strike Out Stroke” game.

In 2007 he began an annual partnership between the Shands Jacksonville Stroke Center and the Jacksonville Suns minor league baseball team to sponsor “Strike Out Stroke” night. This venue draws a large number of people - the baseball park has a capacity of 10,000 people. The purpose of the event is to recognize stroke survivors and their families, promote stroke prevention education, and highlight the efforts of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center.

Inside the park, staff from the stroke center and the neuro floor of Shands provide patient education about stroke, stroke risk factors and accessing emergency care. Wayne also partnered with nursing students from Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), University of North Florida (UNF) and Chamberlin College of Nursing (CCN) to perform blood pressure checks at the game.

In May 2010, the BSN Nursing Program at FSC adopted the Know Stroke course as part of the Community Health Nursing semester. This project, spearheaded by Wayne, is a partnership between FSCJ and the Stroke Center at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center. Shands trains and then mentors nursing students to go out into the community with stroke awareness educational programs.

Wayne has partnered with the Florida Association of Rural EMS Providers (FAREMS) to hold stroke training in 25 of the 31 rural counties (67 total counties) in Florida, and held training in Southeast Georgia for EMS and Nurses. In partnership with FAREMS, and with grant funding, over 65 new Advance Stroke Life Support instructors have been trained. Shands has held classes for EMS in 35 Florida Counties.

All active news articles

Display of the Faces of Stroke stories does not imply National Stroke Association's endorsement of any product, treatment, service or entity. National Stroke Association strongly recommends that people ask a healthcare professional about diagnosis and treatment questions before using any product, treatment or service. The views expressed through the stories reflect those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of National Stroke Association.