Stroke Bill Passes IL House Unanimously!

Our top legislative agenda item, House Bill 4699, which establishes Primary Stroke Centers in Illinois passed the state House of Representatives with a vote 0f 114-0-0 yesterday! Kudos to the bill's sponsor, Rep. Bob Biggins! While the bill is a work in progress, getting it out of the House gives us an opportunity to keep the bill alive to work on it in the Senate and pass it this session.

Below, I am pasting in a recent letter to the editor from the Daily Herald on this subject:



Legislation to help victims of stroke

Published: 5/15/2008 12:07 AM

We are stroke survivors and co-founders of Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other, or SSEEO. SSEEO was created as an umbrella group to provide local stroke survivors with a common voice and to empower us to work to improve care for existing and future survivors.

One bill is particularly important to make sure that future stroke survivors benefit from our experiences. House Bill 4699, the Primary Stroke Center Designation Act, is currently pending before the Illinois General Assembly. This bill will improve the care and treatment for future stroke patients by ensuring that whenever possible, suspected stroke patients will be taken to the hospital best equipped to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment. Experts agree that time is of the essence when dealing with a stroke. "Time Loss is Brain Loss," says the American Stroke Association.

Fortunately, today's medical advancements in stroke diagnosis and treatment have given doctors some exciting new stroke interventions. Unfortunately, these treatments are effective only in the first few hours after onset of symptoms. These amazing techniques, which were not even available when we got sick, can actually reverse the devastating effects of strokes!

By enacting HB 4699, our officials can ensure that future stroke patients will get better treatment, saving lives and preventing misery caused by stroke. Many people who don't even know it yet will benefit for years to come.

We urge everyone to support HB 4699!

Mickey Clancy and Yvonne Stovall
Co-founders and Co-chairs, Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other