WACO, Texas (KXXV) — When you’re having a stroke, every minute matters.
That’s why Baylor Scott and White has moved to a tele-stroke program.
25 News spoke to one stroke patient who used had to use it.
42-year-old James Holmes was driving to work one morning when he had a stroke.
“I was on I-35 north, and I felt like i got electrocuted diff to describe what happened," Holmes said.
He knew right away it was a stroke.
“I tried to grab the wheel with my hand, and I couldn’t. It was odd. The right side wasn’t working," he said.
He made his way to Hillcrest Hospital emergency department.
“They put me in a zoom call basically with a lady describing a medical procedure I needed.”
That zoom call is with a neurologist who knew the exact treatment Holmes needed.
“Immediately I got function in my face," he said.
Before the tele-stroke program, patients were waiting to see one doctor.
“The benefits are incredible because it allows us to get a neurologist," said Hillcrest Stroke Program Coordinator Stephanie Senior.
Lauren Fournier is a neurologist, and she says this is especially helpful for stroke patients who live in rural areas.
Some patients are apprehensive because it’s not person to person, but instead on video, but it works.
“This is weird, but you will also see a neurologist in person once the real critical area is already over," Senior said.
It worked for James.
“It was fast — a couple hours and I was able to speak normal again.”
All the doctors that the patients see on zoom are part of Baylor Scott and White.
