Stroke is a race against time — and thanks to a powerful collaboration between Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital serving two counties in northern Wisconsin, and Access TeleCare, patients across Wisconsin’s Northwoods are now gaining a vital advantage.
In a recent announcement, Aspirus Tomahawk shared how they work with Access TeleCare to elevate their stroke response system using best practices for stroke response activation to achieve critical goals, including:
- Physician evaluation within 10 minutes
- CT imaging by 25 minutes
- Applying Tenecteplase within 60 minutes post-arrival
Integral to this success is 24/7 teleStroke support from Access TeleCare — bridging geographic gaps with expert neurologists immediately available on-screen, often within minutes.
Access TeleCare’s teleStroke services enhance outcomes by delivering acute stroke consultations with board-certified neurologists responding quickly to stroke alerts, guiding onsite teams through triage, imaging review, and medication administration.
“We’ve had neurologists from across the country on screen within minutes. That’s been incredibly beneficial for our patients,” said Sarah Sherman, RN, an emergency department nurse at Aspirus Tomahawk.
The partnership brings cutting-edge neurology expertise right to the bedside. At Aspirus Tomahawk, this translates to more efficient stroke activations, better communications with EMS, and better patient education on post-stroke care. Together, the team improves door-to-needle times and decrease unnecessary transfers.
Nationwide, across its hundreds of teleStroke programs, Access TeleCare reports improved thrombolytic usage, reduced transfers, and elevated quality of care to match stroke center standards — even at rural hospitals.
As Access TeleCare marks two decades of transforming specialty access — with services reaching 65 percent of Americans — it proves that “time is brain” isn’t just a catchphrase. It’s a mission.
Together, Access TeleCare and hospitals like Aspirus Tomahawk are rewriting the stroke care playbook — ensuring every hospital, no matter where it’s located, can deliver rapid, expert stroke treatment when it counts most.
