Abstract
Stroke remains a leading cause of death and severe disability in the United States with swallowing dysfunction being a common initial complication. Patients who present to the a department (ED) with stroke-like symptoms need early implementation of a swallow screening tool to assess for dysphagia. Early screening tool utilization can prevent complications and improve patient outcomes. This suburban ED dysphasia screening goal is 90%. In 2019, 38 patients presented to the ED with stroke-like symptoms with 50% nursing dysphagia screening compliance and 75% compliance in 2020. Educational in-services were held to educate ED nurses on the significance of swallow screenings for stroke patients. An updated registered nurse (RN) Code Neuro checklist was introduced with guidance for how to correctly document in the electronic medical record (EMR). Two weeks preceding the in-service, a pre-quiz evaluated barriers and nursing demographics. Two weeks following, a post-quiz evaluated understanding of the teaching. Swallow screening compliance rates were evaluated with retrospective chart audits. There was an inconsistent trend in compliance for swallow screenings on patients who presented to this suburban ED with stroke-like symptoms from October 2021 to March 2022.