VIRTUAL POSTER Stroke Education Bootcamps

According to the United States Census Bureau, around 60 million (20%) of Americans live in rural areas. Studies have shown almost 1/5 of patients with ischemic stroke are diagnosed and treated in rural areas. Rural patients with stroke have higher mortality rates compared to urban patients. Unfortunately, rural patients with stroke experience higher mortality rates than their urban counterparts. This is largely due to disparities in resources, infrastructure, and clinical capabilities across care sites. These disparities highlight a critical need for targeted education. One promising strategy is fostering mentorship and engagement between rural hospitals and Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSCs), particularly those connected through patient transfer networks. Such partnerships can serve as a catalyst for improving clinical outcomes and standardizing stroke care.

This project applied Six Sigma principles to enhance stroke care knowledge among staff at rural critical access hospitals. The primary intervention involved delivering structured educational bootcamp sessions focused on acute stroke management. Additionally, this project examined the benefits of how providing stroke care education bootcamps strengthens the collaboration and communication between rural and urban healthcare facilities.

Current analysis revealed that 327 participants of the stroke care bootcamps rated their knowledge of acute stroke care as an average of 3.76/5 before education sessions and 4.63/5 after education sessions. 100% of the learners stated they strongly agreed to attainment of knowledge in caring for stroke patients. 100% of learners stated they agreed or strongly agreed to the demonstration of the correct method for documenting and assessing the NIHSS stroke scale. 100% of learners stated they will apply new knowledge gained in practice in collaboration with other members of the healthcare team. 

Evaluation: Stroke care bootcamps significantly enhanced clinical knowledge among rural hospital staff and promoted stronger interfacility collaboration. These findings support the continued use of structured education and CSC mentorship as scalable strategies to reduce rural-urban disparities in stroke outcomes. Stroke Care Bootcamps improve collaboration and communication between rural and urban healthcare facilities.