An Emergency Medical Services Toolkit for Improving Systems of Care for Stroke in North Carolina

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnering with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and the North Carolina Office of EMS to design, develop, and implement an emergency medical services (EMS) performance improvement toolkit to evaluate opportunities to improve the emergency identification and treatment of acute stroke. The EMS Acute Stroke Care Toolkit is being developed, tested, and implemented in all 100 counties in the state by the EMS Performance Improvement Center, the agency that provides technical assistance for EMS in North Carolina. The toolkit helps each EMS system in defining, measuring, and analyzing their system of care and promotes collaboration through public education, regional stroke planning with hospitals, EMS service configuration, EMS staffing patterns, EMS education, and timely care delivery. We outline the issues surrounding acute stroke care, the role of emergency medical systems in stroke care, and the components of the EMS Acute Stroke Care Toolkit designed to improve EMS systems and outcomes for stroke patients.