With hospitals around the country reporting a recent drop in the number of stroke cases arriving in their emergency rooms, health experts suspect that fear of COVID-19 may be causing people to avoid going to the hospital and calling 911 for non-COVID related medical emergencies, like stroke. 

EMS can help by educating patients and the general public about the importance of calling 911 for help when people are experiencing symptoms of stroke. Here are the latest resources:

• Stroke Severity in Patients Tool
• Get Ahead of Stroke webpage
  
• Stroke Urgency Toolkit  
• Other Downloadable Stroke Resources
• BE FAST Handout/Poster
• Patient Brochure