DUBLIN--()--Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that it will support the Brazilian Stroke Network (BSN), a non-governmental organization, through an unrestricted educational grant designed to assist the BSN in its efforts to increase education and awareness about stroke treatment and prevention in Brazil.
According to the BSN, nearly 400,000 strokes occur each year in Brazil, 100,000 of which are fatal – making acute ischemic stroke the leading cause of death in the country.
“Until now, we tried to control hypertension, diabetes and smoking, which had no impact in stroke incidence or stroke mortality,” said Sheila Cristina Ouriques Martins, MD, PhD and President of the BSN. “By educating an underserved population about the prevention and treatment of stroke, we can further our mission to make our community much healthier. Covidien’s funding of this educational grant will bring a valuable educational resource to our medical community, which is committed to reducing stroke in Brazil.”
Dr. Martins and her BSN team, together with Brazilian Stroke Society and Brazilian Academy of Neurology, were recently selected by the World Stroke Organization to receive the Gold Prize award for World Stroke Day 2011. They were recognized for their efforts to mobilize local communities through education and the media.
With Covidien’s unrestricted grant, a new educational course -- Stroke Prevention and Treatment in Brazil – Pre-hospital, Hospital Care and Basic Health Care -- will be offered to designated stroke centers, emergency medical services and primary care professionals throughout Brazil. The course combines e-learning with a hands-on, local effort in which neurologists countrywide train others to develop a best-in-class stroke treatment network across Brazil, facilitating optimal patient access to needed treatments. The Brazilian Stroke Society, Brazilian Neurology Society, Brazilian Medical Association and the BSN are collaborating on the course to help the Ministry of Health implement Brazil’s new policy for stroke.
“We will continue to work with the Ministry of Health and the Brazilian medical societies on the implementation of acute stroke care throughout Brazil,” said Mark A. Turco, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Vascular Therapies, Covidien. “The BSN is to be commended for making this stroke program possible. Moving forward, this educational program can be established and used as a model for other countries as well.”
The BSN was established in June 2008 to improve education, assistance and research on ischemic stroke in Brazil. Created by stroke neurologists, the BSN also includes other physicians, healthcare professionals and health authorities. Since its inception, the BSN has established an average of 12 stroke centers a year, increasing the number of Brazil’s stroke centers from 35 in 2008 to 82 today.
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