The Miriam Hospital Primary Stroke Center
The Miriam Hospital has been certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center. The Miriam Hospital has the distinction of having been the first in Rhode Island to be so designated, and remains the only facility in the state to be certified five times. Certification is based on optimized care: the ability to diagnose and deliver the right treatment for stroke patients. With the right treatment, delivered promptly at a primary stroke center, lives can be saved and crippling disabilities reversed.
Contact Us
For more information about the Stroke Center at The Miriam Hospital, please call 401-793-2500.
The Stroke Center at The Miriam Hospital provides:
- Rhode Island's first Acute Stroke Team: a team of clinicians experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke, who are available around-the-clock for stroke emergencies
- The latest in diagnostic imaging equipment to accurately detect stroke and its complications
- Minimally invasive delivery of care using the newest therapies, such as clot-dissolving medication and the Merci Retrieval device
- An intensive care unit coordinated with the stroke team for supporting treated patients
- A specialized team of nurses dedicated to caring for stroke patients
- Rehabilitation specialists committed to helping survivors regain a comfortable quality of life
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A multi-specialty stroke committee to review patient care and outcomes monthly
State-of-the-Art Treatment Options for Stroke:
Perfusion Diffusion Imaging and the Merci Retriever
We are excited to offer Perfusion Diffusion Imaging. New imaging, performed on The Miriam Hospital's state-of-the-art 64 slice CT scanner, can help physicians diagnose a stroke early and predict the outcome of a stroke in progress. This imaging method shows the area of brain damage that cannot be reversed, as well as the area that is not yet damaged but is at risk for significant damage if an aggressive treatment approach is not taken.
Blood clots are the cause of about 85 percent of over 3,000 strokes suffered by Rhode Islanders each year. Dissolving clots in the fragile blood vessels of the brain is extremely difficult. One effective medication, tPA, can dissolve the clot, but it must be administered during the first few hours after symptoms appear. The Merci Retriever, a tiny corkscrew that can be threaded into an artery in the brain, is able to pull a clot out of the brain.
These treatments are available at only a very few hospitals. Both are available around the clock at The Miriam Hospital.
Our Greatest Reward Is Caring for Our Patients
That’s why we’re committed to turning treatment guidelines into lifelines. The Miriam Hospital has reached an aggressive goal of treating patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for three consecutive calendar years.