Northwest Arkansas Naturals to Host ‘Strike Out Stroke Night’ April 5
| March 20, 2018 | To help Arkansans learn how to survive stroke, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball team is making its April 5 opening game of the 2018 season “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 Washington Regional Medical Center neurologist Margaret Tremwel, M.D., to Arvest Park in Springdale to deliver the ball for the first pitch ceremony. Tremwel is one of six stroke neurologists in the state who are on the AR SAVES team. Gates will open at 5 p.m., and the game starts at 6:25 p.m. against the Corpus Christi Hooks.
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. Stroke survivors will be honored at the Naturals game.
Arkansas ranks sixth in the nation in stroke death rates, a recent improvement from first. 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 three-hour period following the first signs of stroke.
“Events like Strike Out Stroke are 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,” said Renee Joiner, AR SAVES director. “The Naturals have been a steadfast partner over the years in helping us do that.”
The AR SAVES program is a partnership between the UAMS Center for Distance Health, the state Department of Human Services and 54 Arkansas hospitals.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; northwest Arkansas regional campus; statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Myeloma Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,834 students, 822 medical residents and six dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses throughout the state, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.