Five Ways to Support the Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign

Every 40 seconds, a person has a stroke. The right treatment can mean the difference between life and death.

Get Ahead of Stroke is an initiative of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) and its partnering organizations. Our aim? To ensure patients with severe ischemic strokes known as emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) get to neuroendovascular surgery in time. This means enacting legislative change in all 50 states requiring EMS to bring patients with ELVO to neurointerventional-ready hospitals with 24/7/365 coverage.

To accomplish this goal, we need your help. Here is a list of ways that you can take action today, this week, this month, or this year to help us galvanize the change stroke patients need nationwide.

  1. Get the facts. Download the 1-page campaign backgrounder for an evidence-based introduction to all the pertinent stroke facts (with references) and a clear breakdown of the aim of the campaign. You can use this to educate your leadership and staff, your constituents and any stakeholders you want to influence along the way.
  2. Present the campaign to your audiences. We’ve created a 10-slide “use anywhere” campaign overview PowerPoint deck that will allow you to walk anyone through the campaign’s mission and main messages in less than 15 minutes. Use it when you speak to reporters, hospital administrators, first responders and legislators—and tailor it as needed.
  3. Spread the news. We wrote a short newsletter article about the campaign so you don’t have to. Run this piece in your organization’s publication or post it to a blog or social media channel (or all three). It will let your audiences know why this campaign is important and that your organization is a part of it.
  4. Put a face on the issue. Nothing gets a message across better than a personal story. Patient testimonials from stroke survivors are available in both narrative and video format. Share and link to these persuasive examples of how stroke surgery saves and reclaims lives.
  5. Tell the story with visuals. Whether you’re writing a newsletter, drafting a PowerPoint presentation for your board members, or engaging your stakeholders on Instagram, you need a visual. We’ve created some “grab-n-go” images and infographics that showcase the campaign including logos, infographics, and photos with text overlays.