TeleHealth Services announces launch of High Blood Pressure and Stroke Awareness Campaign

TeleHealth Services, the nation's leading provider of interactive patient education systems and healthcare grade televisions for hospitals, today announced the launch of the High Blood Pressure and Stroke Awareness Campaign in support of National Stroke Awareness month, which takes place in May every year.

The TeleHealth Services High Blood Pressure and Stroke Awareness Campaign will supply four educational videos, provided by Milner Fenwick, the leading producer of patient education videos in the United States and one educational video from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in English and Spanish. AHRQ is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Its mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.

According to the National Stroke Association, up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable. In addition, the NSA reports that stroke is the third leading cause of death in America, and the number one cause of adult disability.  A dedicated provider of healthcare education technology, TeleHealth Services will use its TIGR system, an interactive patient and staff education system featuring video-on-demand access, to provide this information to thousands of patients throughout May.

Hospitals including Abington Memorial Hospital, a 665-bed referral center and teaching hospital in the Philadelphia area and Long Island College Hospital, a 506-bed, teaching hospital, which are both dedicated users of TIGR, TeleHealth's interactive patient education platform, will make these videos available to patients throughout their facilities.  Patients will receive printed material regarding the availability of these videos.  Nurses will encourage patients to view these videos in addition to any others which may be applicable to their current conditions. Patients will then access the on-demand videos using their hospital phone system, empowering them and their families as active participants in their own wellness.

"Video has time and again proven to be an extremely effective method of patient education," said George Fleming, CEO of TeleHealth Services. "TeleHealth is pleased to be working with these two content producers to provide patients with stroke prevention materials through the use of our TIGR interactive patient education system.  We are excited to be at the helm of this effort to raise awareness and better educate patients on lifestyle changes that may prevent this frequent condition."

The videos, which will be available hospital-wide for all admitted patients at both Abington Memorial Hospital and Long Island College Hospital, include: "Understanding High Blood Pressure," "Decreasing Your Sodium" and "Home Monitoring" as well as AHRQ's "Staying Active and Healthy with Blood Thinners," in both English and Spanish.  In the video "Stroke: Reducing Your Risk," patients learn not only lifestyle changes to prevent strokes but how to quickly recognize that a friend or family member is suffering a stroke in order to seek quick medical attention to minimize the impact.

"When patients are in a hospital bed, they are a captive audience for health-related information," stated Mark Polatty, Director of Media Services for Abington Hospital. "It is our goal that patients will be empowered with the knowledge to make lifestyle changes to prevent strokes and to learn the warning signs so they can act quickly."

"It is our hope that presenting these campaign videos to our patients throughout the month of May will provide them with the knowledge they need to recognize and act upon the warning signs of a stroke," added Toby Gropen, MD, FAHA, Chairman of Neurology, at Long Island College Hospital.

"Milner Fenwick has been involved in this patient education field since 1975," said David Milner, President, Milner-Fenwick, Inc. "During our 12 year relationship with TeleHealth, we have seen the company continue to respond to the new technological advancements that are happening with video on-demand systems. Partnering with TeleHealth allows us to provide hospitals with the customized solutions they require to effectively educate their patients."

TeleHealth Services has provided interactive patient education systems to more than 450 hospitals throughout the country.  The hospital-approved educational videos can be prescribed per a specific diagnosis via the EMR, clinician entry or request by the patient and are free of charge over the hospital's television system. Videos are available on many types of common health conditions and can be obtained in multiple languages.