Penrose-St. Francis Health Services is a certified Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission. The Stroke Program at Penrose-St. Francis Health Services uses a multi-disciplinary approach that provides stroke treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.
 

At 45, Elizabeth was the picture of health. She didn't think she could be having a stroke. She was wrong. Read her story.

 Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the United States.

• Someone dies from a stroke every 3 minutes, making stroke the third leading cause of death in the United States.
• Strokes can affect people at any age. Twenty-five percent of strokes each year occur in people under the age of 65.
• Stroke kills more women each year than breast cancer.
• About 25 percent of people who recover from their first stroke will have another stroke within five years.
• Studies show that 80 percent of strokes are preventable.
• If appropriate medical care is received within the first 3 hours of the onset of symptoms, the impact of the stroke can be minimized.
• Fewer than one of every 20 stroke victims seeks appropriate medical treatment in time.

Penrose-St. Francis' program is proud to participate in the American Stroke Association's "Get with the Guidelines" treatment protocols. Stroke patients taken to hospitals that follow these guidelines had a better chance of survival than patients taken elsewhere, according to a study published in February 2010.

We encourage patients to see their physician for a complete physical to check cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass numbers. If you don't have a physician, you can Find a Doctor or call Centura’s Nurse Call Center at 719-776-5555. Penrose-St. Francis Health Services wants to help you reduce the chances of suffering a stroke. But if a stroke should happen, we want you to know that the entire Centura Health Stroke Network is standing by to offer you the expert care you need, when and where you need it.