Northwestern Medicine Mobile Stroke Unit state of the art ambulance brings the hospital to stroke victims in DuPage County [Video]

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) — The Mobile Stroke Unit, a state-of-the-art ambulance, in DuPage County is dispatched across the western suburbs to care for patients at their homes or workplaces, saving lives.

“My husband came home for lunch and he noticed I was speaking strangely, like not seeming to make a lot of sense,” said Karen Blinstrup, stroke survivor. “When he came home three or four hours later I was slumped over on the couch. So he called 911 immediately, and knew I was having a stroke.”

The specialized ambulance from Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital was dispatched to her home.

“We’re essentially bringing the hospital to the patient,” said program manager Keely Buffo.

This truck is the only one of its kind in the state of Illinois. It covers an area of 150 square miles and serves 20 communities, or roughly 500,000 people.

“In a stroke you’re losing about 2 million neurons per minute. …