To all our visitors we are happy to announce that our website is back online after a two week absence. We are sorry to have been offline so long but it was necessary to go through with a major update. All our services continue to be available and you may check our calendar for a list of upcoming events.
Thank you for your continued support.
RTH Staff.
The Foundation’s S.M.A.R.T.® and Seminar Programs are off to a good start and already making significant gains in primary stroke education and prevention in the first quarter of 2017. So far, 12 different seminars have been conducted across Los Angeles and Orange County, resulting in the education of 605 people, 457 of which were screened for stroke risk.
S.M.A.R.T.® has been working heavily as well, and already four different schools have partnered with the program to bring stroke education to over 500 students in Biomed and Health Classes. On Tuesday March 7, 2017, Cheryl Ming gave her testimony as a stroke survivor to over a hundred students in Mrs. Bochove and Mr. Davenport’s Biomedical classes at Warren High School in Downey. Cheryl had been the victim of a brain stem stroke in 2001 which left her with a very debilitating condition known as Locked-In-Syndrome, in which the sufferer becomes physically trapped by their body due to the damage of the Pons in the brain stem. With much work, Cheryl was able to overcome her condition and now moves and speaks and is the holder of over 3 degrees including a Master’s in Public Health. Cheryl is currently an intern teaching Health and Human Sexuality at Long Beach City College and has hopes of landing a job where she can use her talents. In her spare time she likes to spend time with her two children, and the students at Warren High were captivated by her powerful testimony. See the pictures below of Mr. Davenport’s class where Cheryl and the S.M.A.R.T.® Staff presented to the students.
(Reposted From Facebook) Our foundation was honored to have been a part of the 3rd Annual Skid Row Carnival of Love this Saturday where we educated THOUSANDS of people in this homeless community on stroke prevention. Thank you to Keck Medicine of USC for allowing us to join you and provide hundreds of free blood pressure screenings.
Music filled the streets, along with carnival games, face painting, clowns, and many “FREE HUGS!”. Additionally, so many amazing local organizations came together to provide medical, legal, and hygiene assistance; including: feet washing, mobile showers, barbershops/hair cuts, counseling, blood pressure and glucose screenings, HIV and STD checks, insurance companies, legal companies, and so many more! Starbucks even hired 3 people!
Free hygiene bags were passed out to every attendee, along with thousands of donated items including: clothes, socks, shoes, blankets, strollers, toys, feminine products, and so much more. Food trucks were also providing free food and water.
A HUGE thank you to Wayfarer Entertainment and Justin Baldoni for organizing this event. It truly was a beautiful day filled with love, support, and education.
This week, the RTH Stroke Foundation kicked off its first set of seminars for the year. The first Seminar was delivered at Anaheim High School on Tuesday to the parents of students that went through our S.M.A.R.T.® Program. The second seminar on Depression and Stroke was delivered in Reseda to the community at the Housing Authority. There will be many more seminars in the coming weeks and months, see our events calendar for a list of these seminars and register online or call us today.
Our Anaheim Seminar in partnership with Anaheim High School, delivered to the parents of S.M.A.R.T.® students by UCI’s Dana Stradling and translated into Spanish by our newest member of the team, Esmeralda Garcia.
Our Reseda Seminar in partnership with the Housing Authority, delivered by President Deborah Massaglia.
A man whose life was saved during a carotid artery screening at our previous seminar in Reseda. The technician discovered a major blockage in his carotid and the man underwent surgery soon after to have it removed.
Doctors have begun to use electrodes to “stimulate” areas of the brain affected by strokes. The new treatment, which was first tested on a patient back in December has already brought about improvement in her previously paralyzed arm. The patient, Judy Slater was left paralyzed on her left side from a stroke she suffered last May and said the Deep Brain Stimulation treatment she received has already led to “improvements” and she can now “move her arm to about shoulder length” according to the article published by TIME.
Doctors are optimistic that this new form of treatment coupled with physical therapy will restore some, if not most motor-function lost during strokes. It was not clear as to when the treatment will be streamlined, as it is still in the developmental phase, but if made available to the public, it could revolutionize post stroke recovery.
To see the full article by TIME, select here.
In the spring of 2012, the RTH Stroke Foundation joined forces with the renowned Keck Medical Center of USC to battle stroke by creating the Roxanna Todd Hodges Comprehensive Stroke Clinic and the Roxanna Todd Hodges Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) Program. There are more than 2,600 stroke-related visits annually to the Keck Medical Center. The stroke clinic provides a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients experiencing stroke or acute neurological events and related conditions. The clinic’s activities will include outpatient care, inpatient care and research.
The Roxanna Todd Hodges TIA Program will focus on the development of enhanced diagnostic and treatment modalities for preventing stroke. Commonly known as a “mini-stroke,” a transient ischemic attack refers to the temporary disturbance of the blood supply to the brain, which often results in a sudden and brief reduction in brain function.
There are over 500,000 evaluations for TIA per year in the United States, although the true incidence is not known because most are never reported. TIA is an early warning of an impending stroke because it reflects an ongoing process such as an unstable artery plaque or heart rhythm.
“I am so proud and grateful to the Keck School of Medicine of USC for this opportunity,” Deborah Massaglia, president of the Roxanna Todd Hodges foundation said.