Expert Care For Your Brain and Spine

You’re proactive about your neurological care and wellness. But emergencies can still happen. As a Primary Stroke Center, we’re always ready to help diagnose and treat you. Every moment counts in an emergency, and we have one of the fastest entrance-to-admit times in the area. Since time is of the essence, we’ll be sure to move you through screening to treatment quickly and efficiently. Symptoms of a stroke can develop suddenly or over the course of a few hours or days. The signs can vary depending on the type of stroke and its location within your brain. It’s always important to act as quickly as possible if you notice any of the warning signs, including:

Use F-A-S-T To Recognize and Remember the Warning Signs of a Stroke

FAST is a simple acronym to recognize the four most common symptoms of a stroke. Recognition of stroke and calling 911 will determine how quickly someone will receive help and treatment.

F = FACE Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A = ARMS Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S = SPEECH Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Does the speech sound slurred or strange?

T = TIME If you observe any of these signs (independently or together), call 9-1-1immediately.

Get medical attention right away, even if symptoms disappear.

About 15 percent of strokes are preceded by a mini stroke that lasts only a few minutes. This is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA), and it’s typically a precursor to a major stroke. Don’t hesitate in seeking a medical evaluation — the best thing you can do is call 911.

And because caring for strokes can extend far beyond your visit, you’ll be supported for the weeks and months to come by our accredited Inpatient Rehabilitation Center and through our dedicated Stroke Support Group.

Because of our success record for positive outcomes, our facility received awards year after year, including:

• Get with the Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Elite Quality Achievement Award, Issued by the American Heart Association
• Stroke Care Excellence Award™ Winner
• Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll for excellence in a special type of stroke treatment
• Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
• American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Thrombectomy-Capable Certification for Stroke Care
• U.S. News & World Report high performing in Stroke 2023

But of course, awards are most helpful for enabling your confidence in our care. What matters most is delivering your own positive outcome. Visit us, and we will do everything we can to make that happen.

AdventHealth Daytona Beach performs advanced therapies for stroke care, including administering the time-sensitive clot-busting medication tPA to break-up or dissolve a clot. Unfortunately, this medication can only be used within four-and-a-half hours of symptoms first appearing – that’s why getting quick access to care is so important.

Another therapy, called a thrombectomy, is much more specialized and it gives clinicians more time to deliver treatment – up to 24 hours from when symptoms first appear. This medical treatment can remove a blood clot from a blocked blood vessel in the brain in the most common type of stroke, called ischemic strokes.

“As the only AdventHealth facility in the area providing this advanced stroke treatment, our Interventional Neuroradiology (INR) program has made a significant impact in stroke care,” said Dr. Vijay Pandav, a vascular and interventional neurologist who specializes in stroke and endovascular therapy at AdventHealth Daytona Beach. “By extending the window for stroke treatment to 24 hours, this gives patients a crucial opportunity for recovery.”

AdventHealth Daytona Beach launched its INR program in November 2022, and the acute stroke team and neuro-interventionalists are highly trained and experienced in complex stroke care and are available 24/7 to provide around-the-clock access to thrombectomy therapy.

In conjunction with the INR program, AdventHealth Daytona Beach also implements the latest in AI technology to help neurology and stroke patients get better outcomes. All AdventHealth hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties utilize the latest AI-powered Viz Platform. This platform is an intelligent care coordination solution that identifies more patients, informs critical decisions at the point of care, and helps improve outcomes.

Viz.ai is a software that identifies blocked arteries in the brain and alerts the doctors taking care of the patient within minutes via notifications on their phone. This helps the patient get lifesaving treatment sooner. It also helps in stroke care coordination by directing the patient to the right health care facility and improve patient outcomes simultaneously.

A stroke can happen at any time, anywhere. And when it does, you need specialized care, fast. AdventHealth Daytona Beach is prepared to care for the most complex strokes 24/7.

Our team of specially trained emergency physicians, neurologists, surgeons, nurses and more stand ready to help when it matters most. All AdventHealth hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties utilize Viz.ai technology to form one cohesive team for enhanced collaboration in real-time. With our specialized technologies and the latest innovations in stroke care, you can count on us when seconds count.

Our brain and spine surgical team at AdventHealth Daytona Beach provides comprehensive, state-of-the-art neurosurgical services. Our advanced neuroscience procedures are designed to effectively address issues with the entire nervous system; brain disorders, spine disorders and peripheral nerve damage or disease. Board-certified and highly-experienced, the team of neurosurgeons and dedicated support staff provide the highest quality neurosurgical care for patients in Seminole, Eastern Lake, Northern Brevard, Volusia, St. Johns, Putnam and Flagler Counties.

We offer dozens of spine care options, from innovative pain management treatments to some of the newest, most advanced, minimally-invasive spinal procedures to help make your feel whole.

From persistent headaches and dizziness to sudden paralysis and difficulty balancing, neurological issues can make anyone take pause. That’s why we take each symptom seriously, combining our depth of screening resources, extended team of experts, and deep understanding of the nervous system to work quickly and efficiently to give you the answers you need. We’ll first talk with you, gathering a full picture of your health and of you as a person. Then we may recommend a range of tests, like MRIs and CT scans, to take a clearer look inside your brain at what’s going on. At each step and before each test, we’ll be there to guide you, explaining everything, and being as helpful as we can possibly be.

The most complex system in your body calls for the most advanced care. That’s our specialty. We take a comprehensive and compassionate approach to you, using some of the best tools and the most proven strategies to help treat a range of neurological diseases and conditions. Some can be treated with nonsurgical options, like medications for stroke or physical therapy for spinal stenosis. But for those who need extra support, we’re here.

AdventHealth Daytona Beach is the area's leading provider of neurosurgical procedures and services, combining the most highly regarded neurological care experts and some of the leading technologies. We’re one of the few hospitals in the nation to use the innovative O-arm® Imaging System, a tool that allows us to take 3D images of the body during surgery for better procedures, smaller incisions, and a faster recovery time. Better technology leads to better outcomes.

Our outpatient neurological rehab services include physical, occupational and speech therapy. Our skilled, expert rehabilitation therapists provide high-quality care, looking after our patients in body, mind and spirit. One-on-one therapy sessions incorporating specialized equipment help our patients find independence and improve their quality of life.

We provide rehab services for a range of conditions, including:

• Stroke
• Brain injury
• Parkinson’s disease
• Spinal cord injury
• Cerebral palsy
• Dysautonomia
• Post-op brain tumor resection
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Amputations
• Movement disorders
• Neuromuscular disorders

Our specialty rehab programs include the following:

• Physical, occupational and speech therapy
• LSVT (Lee Silverman voice treatment) Big & Loud
• Vestibular (balance) therapy
• Fall prevention
• Prosthetic gait training
• Wheelchair evaluations
• LiteGait therapy
• Pediatric therapy
• Aquatic therapy
• Medical fitness
• PWR! (Parkinson Wellness Recovery)

Medical Fitness

Our medical fitness program within our outpatient rehabilitation centers offers a unique transition from skilled therapy to a specialized wellness program. We offer individualized training sessions to reinforce what was learned in therapy and group sessions. Sessions are led by an exercise physiologist with specialized training in working with the neurological population.