Canada's first stroke ambulance dubbed as "emergency room on wheels" introduced in Edmonton.The ambulance is fully equipped with all the tools needed to save lives in the precious moments after a stroke occurs.
It has a CT scanner and lab equipment as well as video and audio communication capabilities to allow EMTs on board to share information with doctors and make a diagnosis quickly and while they’re en route to hospital.
Patients in rural Alberta and Albertans living within a 250 kilometre-radius of Edmonton will be benefited with this service.
The stroke ambulance will be dispatched from the U of A Hospital, northern Alberta’s centre for stroke care, starting in January.
The total cost of the stroke ambulance pilot project is $3.3 million and is funded by the University Hospital Foundation’s Brain Centre Campaign.