The American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association this week pledged $6.5 million to a three-year initiative to improve Nebraska’s stroke response system, the Omaha World-Herald has reported.
According to Kevin Harker, executive vice president of the AHA’s Midwest Affiliate, the project’s aim will be to spread public awareness about stroke—“people are still less likely to call 911 symptoms if they’re experiencing stroke symptoms than if they’re suffering from a heart attack,” the World-Herald wrote—and to strengthen ties and promote collaboration between the state’s many organizations involve in stroke care.
The initiative, which will reportedly also focus on innovation and rehab, will be modeled after a similar program launched in North Dakota last year.
“The main goal is to save lives and change lives,” Harker said. “But we know that measuring the data will help us in that focus.”
Read the World-Herald’s full story below:
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.