Ohio Gov. Signs Bill Improving Stroke Transport Protocols

PRESS RELEASE

FAIRFAX, VA—Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law SB 21 on June 22, 2021, a measure that will improve how first responders triage stroke patients and transport them to care facilities designed to treat their particular type of strokes.

DeWine was joined for the signing ceremony by bill cosponsors Sens. Nickie Antonio and Nathan Manning, as well as stroke survivors and representatives from the Get Ahead of Stroke® campaign and the Ohio Ambulance and Medical Transportation Association.

With the changes proposed in the legislation, Ohioans will have a better chance of surviving stroke, reducing costs for both the state and for families associated with long-term healthcare following a debilitating stroke, according to a release.

The bill will take effect within 90 days.

“With severe strokes such as LVOs, the clock is ticking,” said Shazam Hussain, director of the Cerebrovascular Center at Cleveland Clinic and member of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS). “Time wasted in transporting patients to a second or even third hospital is time—and brain cells—that can never be reclaimed. This legislation will help more Ohioans get to lifesaving treatment the first time.”

The legislation requires the State Board of Emergency Medical, Fire and Transportation Services to develop guidelines for the assessment, triage and transport of stroke patients to hospitals by EMS personnel—including patients experiencing LVO strokes. Currently the Ohio stroke system of care lacks protocols that would help ensure severe stroke patients get to a Level 1 stroke center, the release states.

The law also requires that first responders receive training about how to properly triage stroke patients, including those experiencing LVOs.

“As a 30-year-old stroke survivor, I know that seconds are everything when it comes to stroke survival and recovery,” said Ohio stroke survivor Jeri Ward. “Reducing the unnecessary travel time for stroke patients will be the difference in life, death and long-term disability. Today I am immeasurably proud of my state in signing Senate Bill 21 into law, and so grateful to have been a part of the process in telling my story to relate the importance of the legislation.”

“We commend Senators Antonio and Manning, along with their colleagues, for their bipartisan leadership in passing this important legislation,” said William Mack, a stroke surgeon and president of SNIS. 

Similar measures have recently passed in Tennessee and Florida, along with positive regulatory changes in Colorado and Arizona. The Get Ahead of Stroke® campaign is currently supporting similar policy changes in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.