It’s amazing to learn of a charitable act that will have a huge impact on our Houston community. Recently, Gallery Furniture’s Jim McIngvale, affectionately known as Mattress Mack by many Houstonians who adore him, partially funded the first Mobile Stroke Unit in the nation. The unit is used by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) in partnership with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center to save lives across Houston.
Incredibly, the mobile unit features a computed tomography (CT) scanner, allowing for a patient to be assessed for cause a stroke. If it is one caused by a blood clot, a clot buster can be administered earlier for a greater effect.
Almost 800,000 Americans have a stroke each year, and it’s the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Suffering a stroke is also the leading cause of disability, according to the American Stroke Association and the Centers for Disease control.
James C. Grotta, M.D., director of stroke research at the Clinical Institute for Research & Innovation at Memorial Hermann-TMC and director of the mobile stroke unit consortium, stresses the significance of the new unit as stroke patients normally wait about an hour in the emergency room to get treatment, loosing precious time needed to survive.
It was announced on June 4th that the UTHealth Mobile Stroke Unit successfully treated and transported their very first patient, helping to save her life and demonstrating the impact it will have on so many people.
Dr. Grotta has treated McIngvale for a mini-stroke in the past and after learning of the first transport Mr. McIngvale stated, “I’m thrilled to hear of the positive outcome for the first stroke unit patient and hope that we will see many more of these outcomes as the team continues its groundbreaking work. This is a priceless and lifesaving service Dr. Grotta and his teams are providing the Houston community and it was an honor to be able to contribute to such a cause that is so close to my heart.”
We are certainly excited for this incredible addition to better treat our community and we can’t wait to hear more success story in the future!
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