Dr. Elisabeth Marsh is the Medical Director of Bayview Medical Center’s Stroke Program and, along with Dr. Rafael Llinas, runs the Bayview Stroke Intervention Clinic (BaSIC). BaSIC is a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic. Patients are seen within 4-6 weeks of their discharge from the Bayview Neurology Service so that key follow-up issues including post-stroke depression and fatigue can be addressed; persistent symptoms managed; and medications reconciled. Patients and families have the opportunity to see their stroke on neuroimaging, with the goal of truly understanding why the stroke occurred and the best way to decrease the chance of a future event. Our multidisciplinary approach allows for those with continued needs to be directly linked to our rehabilitation services. The program has already led to higher post-discharge follow-up rates, better adherence to risk factor modification strategies, and decreased rates of re-hospitalization.

In addition to patient care, BaSIC also serves as a clinical research environment focused on stroke outcomes. Together, we are identifying critical gaps in the knowledge of stroke treatment and recovery. Our long-term goal is to enhance post-stroke care by improving both symptomatic recovery and patient-centered outcomes. We are currently investigating factors related to cognitive decline post-stroke, and the influence of post-stroke depression, fatigue, and persistent symptoms on long-term recovery and quality of life for both patients and their families.