July 23, 2018

Telestroke now provided at Huggins Hospital through GraniteOne Health's Telehealth Program

GraniteOne Health is bringing advanced, high-quality care even closer to home for Granite Staters. Starting this month, telestroke services are available for patients at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro and Monadnock Community Hospital (MCH) in Peterborough. This new service will build upon the strength of each hospital’s existing stroke program to bring more specialized care directly to those communities. 

“When people have access to high-quality services in their own community, they’re getting more value from their health care. They get medical attention more quickly and have a better overall experience,” says GraniteOne Health CEO Joseph Pepe, MD. “This is exactly what we set out to do in creating GraniteOne Health.”

In a suspected stroke, time lost is brain lost. Telestroke allows timely, remote consults with neurologists. This helps patients get specialized, time-sensitive stroke treatments faster, which has been shown to limit potential stroke-related damage to the brain. 

Telehealth programs such as telestroke help fill the care gap in rural communities by supporting hospital staff through audio and video technology. The services are not intended to replace hands-on care, but instead provide an additional communication tool for medical staff via real-time technology. Huggins and Monadnock will be linking to the same neurologists that GraniteOne Health partner Catholic Medical Center (CMC) uses for their telestroke program.  CMC holds The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers.  The hospital is also recognized by the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite.

“This service will improve access to stroke specialists in our community,” said Huggins Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer John Boornazian, MD. “Adding a consultation with a neurologist—even through a computer screen—creates a more advanced and timely system of care.”

“Technology is changing the way health care is delivered,” says Michael Lindberg, MD, MCH’s Chief Medical Officer. “While in-person, one-on-one consultations with clinicians will always be the standard for our patients, telemedicine expands the continuum of care to folks in rural areas who may have limited access to leading specialists.”

GraniteOne Health initiated the telehealth program, which has the potential to be applied to many other medical specialties in the future. Currently, CMC also uses or offers telemedicine for neurology, psychiatry, hospitalists, neurospine, and virtual primary care visits. CMC also started a program last year to put telestroke on board ambulances in several New Hampshire communities, including Peterborough Fire & Rescue.

Telehealth is one of many initiatives between the GraniteOne Health partners. CMC, Huggins Hospital and Monadnock Community Hospital are working together to improve access to high-quality care and a seamless patient experience for Granite Staters. 

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ABOUT GRANITEONE HEALTH: GraniteOne Health is a non-profit, New Hampshire-based healthcare system consisting of Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro, and Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough. GraniteOne Health draws on the resources and expertise of these strong, trusted hospitals to enhance collaboration, strengthen clinical partnerships and meet the health needs of the communities by providing greater access to high-quality care and a seamless patient experience.