Why choose the INI Stroke Network?

The INI Stroke Network is the largest rural stroke network in the nation with over 25 Illinois hospitals working together to be leaders in the prevention, detection and treatment of brain attacks (stroke).

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center originally developed this network in 1997 to assist rural hospitals in providing timely acute treatment to persons suffering a brain attack. With the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a clot-busting medication known as t-PA in 1996, the OSF Stroke Network assisted rural hospitals with access to 24/7 neurological expertise, treatment protocols and education to treat patients suffering acute brain attacks.

Early recognition of the symptoms of stroke and prompt medical attention at the closest hospital equipped to provide acute stroke diagnosis and treatment is critical for best recovery following a brain attack. The development of the Stroke Network allowed people residing in rural communities to go to a hospital near their homes to begin the assessment, testing and early treatment of acute strokes and transfer to a larger hospital for additional treatment. Now over 10 years strong, all rural hospitals in the Stroke Network have provided this level of care, given IV t-PA and transferred patients to the Illinois Neurological Stroke Center for further comprehensive stroke treatment.

The Illinois Neurological Institute (INI) was organized as a hospital within OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in 2000 and now administers the Stroke Network to provide leadership and ensure excellence in stroke care.

Drip and Ship

Drip and Ship is the process developed by the INI Stroke Network. This process works just like the phrase says: Persons with signs and symptoms of stroke present to the closest rural emergency department capable of recognizing and treating strokes. The emergency physician and staff will begin the assessment and testing to diagnose a stroke. They will begin by checking vital signs, obtaining some blood samples and doing a CT scan. Once the CT scan is done the rural ER physician will contact the stroke neurologist on call at the OSF Stroke Network. Both physicians will discuss the presenting signs and symptoms, the CT results and the treatment options that may offered. If the symptoms and CT scan point to an ischemic (clot causing) stroke, the person will be screened for eligibility to receive IV tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) also known as the "clot busting medication" to help dissolve the clot. The physicians must determine when the symptoms began as IV t-PA must be given within 3 hours of the onset of symptoms. The ER staff will administer the medication (t-PA) and prepare for transfer either by helicopter or ground ambulance to the INI Stroke Center for additional treatment. (see treatment options)