It is the only primary stroke center east of Interstate 95.

The stroke center in Heidelberg is a high volume, hyperacute service.

As many as a third of the patients refused to let the ambulance take them to a stroke center, demanding to go to their local hospital.

The first step went well - the city's ambulance services agreed to take all patients with stroke symptoms to designated stroke centers.

The State Health Department set out to identify hospitals that met the criteria for stroke centers.

And being a stroke center means finding and paying stroke specialists to be available around the clock.

Floyd is one of only a few hospitals in Georgia to be recognized as a Primary Stroke Center.

The neurology groups and the National Institutes of Health set out a series of standards a stroke center would have to meet.

In addition, the hospital is certified as a primary stroke center by the Joint Commission in recognition of its exceptional outcomes for these patients.

Another approach, stroke specialists say, is to direct all patients with stroke symptoms to designated stroke centers.