New Hanover Regional Medical Center has expanded its endovascular stroke program to ensure patients do not have to leave the area to get treatment.
 
NHRMC now offers around-the-clock neuro-interventional coverage to treat patients suffering from stroke and other cerebrovascular emergencies. Jeffrey Beecher has joined the NHRMC medical staff and is partnering with Vinodh Doss to allow for the uninterrupted interventional stroke care, decreasing the time to treatment and improving patient outcomes, a news release said.
 
“I think from a community standpoint it’s a big deal,” said James McKinney, medical director of NHRMC’s Stroke Program. “We’re able to provide this critical treatment to our stroke patients regardless of time of day. Historically, we had to transfer some patients at least two hours away for this treatment.”
 
Southeastern North Carolina lies within “the stroke belt,” a part of the country with elevated stroke rates. NHRMC admitted about 1,200 stroke patients in 2017.