November 11, 2005

MGH stroke team receives Nesson Award

The MGH Acute Stroke Service was presented with a Nesson Award for Innovation from Partners Community HealthCare, Inc. (PCHI), at its recent annual meeting. Named for H. Richard Nesson, MD, PCHI's founder and the former president of Partners HealthCare, the awards are given annually to PCHI physicians and groups who exemplify Nesson's commitment to improving care.

Led by Lee Schwamm, MD, director of TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services, the Acute Stroke Service has developed a number of high-tech innovations that have changed the treatment of acute stroke patients and the work lives of physician and nursing staff. The team developed a web site, www.acutestroke.com, that offers comprehensive medical information along with guidelines and educational tools for patients, providers and caregivers; created a regional acute stroke telemedicine network that uses videoconferencing technology to allow MGH neurologists, radiologists and other specialists to provide real-time clinical assessments and medical consultations to outlying community hospitals; and established a wireless network in the MGH's Neuro Intensive Care Unit, which allows physicians and nurses to view the patient's electronic medical record, review test results and order additional medications and tests on a laptop computer while in a patient's room.

From left, Thomas Lee, MD, CEO of PCHI, and Schwamm