Dr. Tim Malisch Testifies in Springfield to Advance Primary Stroke Center Designation Act

Proposed Primary Stroke Center Designation Act

Tim Malisch, M.D., Director of Interventional Neuroradiology, was invited to testify before the Illinois state legislature regarding HB4699, the proposed Primary Stroke Center Designation Act. He testified on March 11 before the House Health Care Availability and Access Committee, along with a physician from OSF in Peoria and several stroke survivors.

The testimony noted that even with the great progress being made in stroke treatment, many patients with stroke are not taken to hospitals that offer these advances and therefore do not have the opportunity to benefit.

The proposed Primary Stroke Center Designation Act provides for the recognition by the Illinois Department of Public Health of hospitals as Primary Stroke Centers if they are designated as Primary Stroke Centers by the Joint Commission or another nationally recognized accrediting body. The act also provides for matching grants to hospitals seeking designation if they demonstrate a need for financial assistance to develop the necessary infrastructure to develop a stroke center.

The General Assembly recognizes that stroke remains the third highest killer in the United States and in Illinois despite treatment advances and that it is in the best interest of the residents of this state to designate stroke centers throughout the state to ensure that stroke patients receive safe and effective care and to provide financial support to acute care hospitals to maintain and develop stroke centers. It also recognizes the need to improve the state’s emergency medical response system to assure that stroke victims may be quickly identified and transported to facilities that provide timely and appropriate treatment for stroke victims.

“The proposed legislation is a fair and flexible structure that allows EMS and hospitals to collaborate with the American Stroke Association and define, on a region-by-region basis how stroke systems of care can be created to maximize the chance that stroke patients will be transported from the field to certified stroke centers,” Dr. Malisch says. “Through our trip to Springfield on March 11, we were able to move the bill forward out of the Committee.” The final language of the bill is being fine-tuned, and the bill is expected to be voted on by the House later this spring.

“The invitation for Alexian Brothers Hospital Network to testify to our state legislature regarding this stroke bill is a nice recognition of our stroke programs’ accomplishments at both of our acute care hospitals,” Dr. Malisch says.

Alexian Brothers Medical Center and St. Alexius Medical Center were among the first hospitals in Illinois to receive Joint Commission designation as Primary Stroke Centers.