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There’s something
of a
revolution going on in stroke care.
And Mercy Medical Center Redding
is about to bring a game-changer
to the North State, says Deborah
Wedick, RN, Stroke Coordinator
and Telemedicine Manager.
Racing the clock
Most strokes are caused by a clot
blocking blood flow to the brain.
Medication can break up the clot,
but it must be given quickly—
within a few hours.
Outside that win-
dow, surgery is often
the best option to
get blood flowing
again and keep
brain tissue
from dying.
In the past, patients who needed
that lifesaving procedure, called a
thrombectomy, had to go to
Sacramento. There, special
equipment allows doctors
to remove a clot up
to 12 hours after
symptoms begin.
But soon, Mercy Medical
Center Redding will offer
the same level of care.
“That will make us the
only medical center from
Sacramento to Portland
to perform that
A new age in
stroke care
this procedure comes out of it with
little or no long-term disability.
Leading the way
The new equipment is part of a
five-year plan to become a compre-
hensive stroke center. That includes
“a big push to bring in the best and
the brightest,” Wedick says.
The medical center
recently hired an endo-
vascular neurologist, a
surgeon with the skills to
operate the biplane unit
and remove clots. There
are plans to add other ex-
perts to the staff as well.
And the hospital has built
a new neuro-intensive
care unit.
“We’re leading the way in
neuro care,” Wedick says.
From left: Luke Rawlings, MD; Assembly member Brian
Dahle; Deborah Wedick, RN; Jesse Wells, MD; and
Kevin Baird, RN.
The biplane suite is
expected to open in June.
Watch your local paper for
open house details.
If you think
someonemay be
having a stroke,
call 911 right
away. Don’t wait!
procedure,” says Kevin
Baird, RN, Stroke
Program Coordinator.
Pinpoint precision
The equipment that makes it pos-
sible is called a biplane neuroan-
giography system. Its cameras offer
a detailed view of blood vessels in
the patient’s head and neck.
Using those images, doctors can
see exactly where the stroke is
happening and check
for brain tissue that’s
still living. Then a
specialized surgeon
can insert a small
tube into an artery
and take the clot out.
“It revolutionizes the care of stroke,”
Baird says. “You can actually see the
patient improving right there.” And
he adds that 1 in 4 people who have
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