Physicians Regional Healthcare in Collier gains designation as comprehensive stroke center

Physicians Regional Healthcare System has gained designation as a comprehensive stroke center, a status that is reserved for hospitals with the expertise to treat patients when quick response time is critical to recovery.

The stroke team, based at Physicians Regional at Pine Ridge, offers specialized care in prevention and treatment, procedures and rehabilitation, according to the hospital.

The team is led by Dr. Mazen K. AbuAwad and Dr. Nasser Razack, neurointerventional radiologists who perform minimally invasive procedures after all types and severity of strokes to help prevent loss of brain function so patients recover to a quality of life that might not have been possible without the intervention.

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The neurointerventional radiologists remove clots in vessels in the brain, perform coil embolization and clipping to treat a weakened part of an artery to reduce the risk of bleeding, and can surgically repair malformations of arteries, among a list of procedures.

Strokes occur when blood flow to part of the brain is disrupted by a blood clot in an artery or ruptured blood vessel that leads to bleeding. Strokes are the leading cause of disability in adults and accounted for 1 of every 19 deaths in 2016, according to the American Heart Association.

“We are proud to receive this designation from the Agency for Healthcare Administration,” said Scott Lowe, chief executive officer of Physicians Regional.

“To enhance our commitment to deliver a higher level of stroke care to all patients in our community, we are pleased that two of the area’s finest neurointerventional radiologists, Dr. Mazen K. AbuAwad and Dr. Nasser Razack, have joined our medical staff, and will lead our Comprehensive Stroke Center,” Lowe said in a news release.

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Dr. Robert Tober, medical director of Collier County Emergency Medical Services, said the two physicians are outstanding stroke specialists.

“They are experts at removing blood clots from large vessels in the brain,” Tober said. “Large vessel strokes cause 90 percent of permanent disability.”

A large vessel stroke causes weakness or paralysis on one side of the body; can affect speech, eye movement, and body awareness to severely impact quality of life; and is why so many people end up in nursing homes long-term after a stroke, Tober said.

“We make every effort to get a large vessel occlusion stroke person to a comprehensive stroke center as the first delivery place, because time is of the essence in preserving brain tissue,” Tober said.

In 2015, the NCH Healthcare System acquired status as a comprehensive stroke center; AbuAwad was part of the NCH team for several years. Last fall he decided to pursue privileges with Physicians Regional.

NCH is accredited through The Joint Commission as a primary stroke center and through the state as a comprehensive stroke center, according to NCH spokeswoman Debbie Curry. 

This is the second time Physicians Regional has received designation as a comprehensive stroke center. The hospital first earned it in 2012 but relinquished the designation in 2015 when two physicians who led the stroke program, Dr. Eric Eskioglu and Dr. Brian Mason, did not renew their contracts.

Physicians Regional declined to share volume projections for the stroke center because it is proprietary information. Tober said Collier EMS uses a system for determining where to take stroke patients now that Physicians Regional has the designation again as a comprehensive stroke center.

“We have a response grid for which hospital is closest, and we have paramedics who have certain zones, and they know immediately where the closest facility is,” he said.

The state agency’s requirements for a hospital to become a comprehensive stroke center include having neurosurgical expertise available 24/7 and the physicians present in the hospital within two hours. The hospital also must have a support team capable of 24/7 care from triage to post-stroke rehabilitation.

“Having the right team of experts and the technology to quickly evaluate and initiate treatment, along with proper post-discharge recovery, is essential,” AbuAwad said in a news release. “It is gratifying for me to have that ability to help patients heal from stroke and restore as much functionality as possible.”

What’s required for the designation from the state helps patients receive the highest level of care while reducing risks, Razack said.

“With a stroke, you must have the ability to act quickly and efficiently, due to the time-critical nature and complexity that exists,” he said.

In addition to the designation, Physicians Regional has received the American Heart Association’s “Get With the Guidelines” stroke gold plus quality achievement three times in recent years. The award recognizes commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized guidelines.