Robot named AVA used to evaluate stroke victims

By Elyssa Parnell

eparnell@civitasmedia.com

Registered Nurse Leslie Minick demonstrates with Faye Morris how AVA is used to work with stroke victims. Morris was brought to Newberry County Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke at work. AVA, which stands for A Virtual Assistant, is a telehealth robot that connects NCMH and Greenville Health Systems specifically to evaluate stroke victims.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_AVA1.jpgRegistered Nurse Leslie Minick demonstrates with Faye Morris how AVA is used to work with stroke victims. Morris was brought to Newberry County Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke at work. AVA, which stands for A Virtual Assistant, is a telehealth robot that connects NCMH and Greenville Health Systems specifically to evaluate stroke victims. Elyssa Parnell | The Newberry Observer

NEWBERRY — After just a few weeks, the signs that 74-year-old Faye Morris was the victim of a stroke cannot be found, a fact she credits to the staff at Newberry County Memorial Hospital, including new staff member AVA.

AVA, which stands for A Virtual Assistant, is a telehealth stroke robot and the connector between NCMH and Greenville Health Systems. AVA has been with the hospital since May 2013.

Morris was working as a dental assistant for a dentist in Newberry and had just sat down to check a patient when she had her stroke.

“I went to say something to her (patient) and I couldn’t talk,” Morris said. “That’s just how quickly it happened — I had no symptoms whatsoever.”

Morris said she was thankful the dental practice’s staff knew what was happening and called EMS.

Leslie Minick,a registered nurse at NCMH, said only 42 minutes passed from the onset of the stroke to the time Morris received treatment. Minick said “time equals brain” is a saying they use with stroke patients because millions of brain cells are lost each second a patient goes untreated.

Minick said they use a stroke scale called FAST — Facial droop, Arm sway, Speech deficit and Time/onset of symptoms — to assess patients when they are brought in.

Minick said every stroke victim is different. Some experience numbness on one side of their body along with other symptoms. Minick said Morris had a speech deficit when she arrived at the hospital. Timing is crucial when it comes to treatment.

“I was having her name things and letting her tell me her name,” Minick said, adding that AVA was also used to evaluate Morris.

AVA’s robotic parts are extremely sensitive to sound and allow her to zero in on a patient’s pupil to detect stroke signs. The robot can show a series of photographs that can be used to test language in the patient. Neurologists in Greenville can connect to AVA from wherever they might be to work with the patient through the robot.

Morris said she does not remember working with AVA but does remember doctors saying they would have a neurologist from Greenville Health Systems online to examine her through AVA.

“They said they were trying to get me to raise my hands and touch my nose and I didn’t respond at all,” Morris said. “They said my room was full of people working with me.”

After working with AVA in Newberry, Morris was transferred to Greenville where she was assessed to see if another follow-up was needed or if medication was needed. Morris said she had several MRIs and CT scans to see if the stroke caused any damage.

The neurologists told her the MRI showed no damage other than normal aging.

“They couldn’t even tell I had ever had a stroke,” Morris said.

Minick said using AVA does not lock a patient into going to Greenville for treatment, but having access to their neurologists for patients is an asset.

Brenda Williams, director of marketing for NCMH, said staff members have been trained to use AVA and are grateful they have it available to them.

“They feel grateful and honored to be able to offer this to our community,” Williams said, adding Minick is available to speak to organizations about AVA.

Contact the marketing department at 803-405-7425 to arrange a speaking engagement about AVA.

Reach Elyssa Parnell at 803-276-0625, ext. 1868, or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.