Vibra Hospital of Northern California in Redding is the only long-term acute care (LTAC) hospital in the rural region of the West Coast stretching from north of Sacramento to south of Portland, OR. Care for dialysis patients at this specialty facility is particularly problematic, with only three nephrologists serving the entire area, a growing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population and patients and their families often having to drive far distances for outpatient intermittent hemodialysis (IHD).

Recently, Vibra Healthcare’s corporate leadership decided to bring in-house IHD services, featuring Outset Medical’s first-of-its-kind Tablo® Hemodialysis System, to several of its hospitals including Vibra Hospital of Northern California. Vibra Hospital of Northern California started managing its own Tablo program in December of 2022.

Read More: ​https://www.outsetmedical.com/perspective/innovative-dialysis-care-in-a-long-term-acute-care-hospital/

To help “close the gap between knowledge and action”, the American Stroke Association (ASA) is launching a culturally relevant Spanish-language campaign named ‘Juntos Contra el Derrame Cerebral’ to raise awareness among Spanish-dominant audiences around the use and understanding of RÁPIDO—a Spanish acronym for stroke warning signs.

According to ASA stroke survey data, only 39% of Hispanic-Latino consumers said they were familiar with the English stroke warning sign acronym, FAST, and only 42% could correctly name two stroke warning signs unaided.

Hispanic-Latino adults in the USA have a higher risk of stroke due to unmanaged risk factors, limited access to healthcare, lower health literacy rates, cultural barriers and socioeconomic determinants of health. That is according to a press release from the ASA, a division of the American Heart Association (AHA). Hispanic-Latino stroke patients also have longer delay times to hospital arrival than non-Hispanic stroke patients, as well as greater stroke severity and poorer outcomes following stroke.

Read More: ​https://neuronewsinternational.com/asa-seeks-to-empower-hispanic-latino-communities-with-promotion-of-rapido-acronym/

The race against a silent killer

To amplify the stark reality of the disease burden from this "silent killer", WHO produced a Global report on hypertension. This comprehensive report features unsettling statistics underscoring the far-reaching consequences of uncontrolled hypertension – ranging from heart attacks, strokes and premature death to substantial economic loss.  Moreover, the accompanying profiles offer a country-by-country snapshot of hypertension burden and control. The report not only serves as an eye-opener but also shows the way forward for countries to protect their people, highlighting the tremendous strides made in managing the disease, and drawing insights from the implementation of the WHO HEARTS package. Additionally, it equips countries with essential tools to enhance hypertension prevention, control and surveillance, thereby offering a roadmap towards a healthier future.

Read More: https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/hypertension-report