Northwest Arkansas Naturals to Host ‘Strike Out Stroke Night’ April 4
| LITTLE ROCK — To help Arkansans learn how to survive stroke, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball team is making its April 4 home opening game “Strike Out Stroke Night” in partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)-led statewide stroke program, AR SAVES.
A helicopter will bring Michael Manley, director of AR SAVES and education director of the UAMS Center for Distance Health, to the field to deliver the ball for the first pitch, which Benjamin “Coach” Wade of the “Survivor” television program on the CBS network will throw. Gates will open at 5 p.m., and the game starts at 6 p.m. against the Midland, Texas Rockhounds.
Volunteers from AR SAVES (Arkansas Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support) sites around the state will work at stroke education booths, and brain-shaped stress toys will be thrown into the stands.
AR SAVES stroke survivors will be honored guests at the game. Their presence in a reserved seating section will serve as a reminder to others that getting to the hospital quickly can prevent stroke death and disability.
Arkansas ranks first in the nation in stroke death rates. Surviving a stroke is becoming more likely as more community hospitals join the SAVES network. The program uses a high-speed video communications system to help provide immediate, life-saving treatments to stroke patients 24 hours a day. The real-time video communication enables a stroke neurologist to evaluate whether emergency room physicians should use a powerful blood thinner within the critical 4.5-hour period following the first signs of stroke.
“This is an important part of UAMS’ mission — reaching out to other areas of the state and helping local physicians identify patients with stroke and improve the patients’ outcomes,” Manley said.
The AR SAVES program is a partnership between the UAMS Center for Distance Health, the state Department of Human Services, Sparks Regional Health System in Fort Smith, and 41 Arkansas hospitals.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.