Topton Ambulance Service is partnering with Lehigh Valley Health Network to provide a higher level of care for stroke victims. (COURTESY OF LVHN)
Topton Ambulance Service has partnered with Lehigh Valley Health Network’s mobile stroke unit to bring a higher level of emergency care to those it serves.
With the addition of Topton Ambulance, which serves a roughly 40-square-mile area in northeastern Berks County, the mobile shock unit now covers more than 400 square miles in the region, officials said in a release Wednesday.
The mobile stroke unit, part of the Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute, was the first mobile stroke unit in Pennsylvania when it debuted in 2019 and is one of 20 such units across the country offering advanced care for strokes.
The partnership with Topton Ambulance means the shock unit will respond to shock calls alongside Topton or meet Topton crews on their way to a comprehensive stroke center like Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest.
Topton Ambulance serves approximately 4,200 residents in Topton and Lyons, and Longswamp, Rockland, Maxatawny and District townships.
“Having faster access to world-class stroke care is a great tool for us to have to support the communities we serve,” Topton Ambulance CEO and CEO Michael Richards said in the release. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the hitting unit.”
The mobile shock unit does not work anywhere within the LVHN footprint. However, in addition to Topton, it has agreements and assists on hit calls with Northern Valley, Cetronia, Macungie and Boyertown ambulance companies.
Ken Reichenbach, program director of the mobile stroke unit, said the mobile stroke unit is essentially a neurological emergency room on wheels.
The stroke unit is equipped with a camera that doctors at LVHN stroke centers can use to assess what’s going on and direct initial treatment. Doctors have direct communication with the stroke unit crew, who can also perform a scan so doctors have a picture of what’s going on inside the patient’s brain.
Someone has a stroke every 40 seconds in the United States. In most cases, this means that blood flow to the brain is blocked. It could also mean that an artery in the brain has ruptured and is causing bleeding around the brain.
“The sooner a stroke patient receives treatment, the better the outcome,” Reichenbach said.
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