“My grandfather passed away from a stroke, so getting involved was something near and dear to my heart,” says Matt Hill, paramedic and captain with the Santa Monica Fire Department who works on the UCLA Health Mobile Stroke Unit. “Whenever the Mobile Stroke Unit is in operation there is a doctor, nurse, CT technician and paramedic on board. We are able to determine if a patient is having a stroke with a CT scan and then determine if it’s a hemorrhagic stroke, a brain bleed or an ischemic stroke. Once we know what kind of stroke, we can give the appropriate medication or go through the appropriate treatment modalities for that patient. If we can help someone keep his or her loved one around a little longer, I want to have a part in that. This unit really does something that almost no other ambulance in California can do.”
An Ambulance Like No Other
