VHP, Spectrum Health Announce 2012 Student Stroke Video Winners

Value Health Partners (VHP) and Spectrum Health have announced the winners of the 2012 Stroke Prevention Student Video Competition. Spectrum Health is a member of VHP.

The winners of the video contest are:

Stroke: A Survivor’s Story – Jeff Cushman, Sydney Owens and Jordan Cardenas, Heritage High School, Saginaw
Stroke PSA – Tyler Griffin, Luke Kelly and Dylan Lusky, Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, Traverse City
Think Fast, Act Fast – Lynsey Bettig and Alex Schaap, Rockford High School, Rockford
Stroke: Act F-A-S-T – Carolynn Zinsmaster, Schoolcraft High School, Schoolcraft

This is the second year of the competition which is open to students in the areas served by VHP’s member organizations.

Spectrum Health Healthier Communities partnered with the Spectrum Health stroke program to fund this special effort to work with area students to educate the community about the importance of immediate stroke response. The schools in Spectrum Health’s region that submitted videos include Forest Hills Central High School, Forest Hills Eastern High School, Muskegon High School, Rockford High School and Whitehall Junior High School.

The Rockford High School winners are students of Kristopher DeYoung. Each winning school’s media program received prize money in the amount of $1,000.

The winning videos can be viewed on the 2012 VHP Stroke Awareness Video Contest Winners YouTube playlist.

Approximately 8,000 patients in the areas served by VHP member health care organizations suffer from a stroke each year. In recognition of National Stroke Awareness Month in May, students were encouraged to submit a 30-second public service video that captured the “FAST” message to help the public easily recall stroke symptoms and know what to do.

Face – Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
Arms – Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
Speech – Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
Time – If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Value Health Partners was formed in 2008 to create greater value for the patients and communities they serve. The coalition’s focus is on:

Clinical quality and best practices
Community health improvement programs to address health disparities for at-risk populations
Advocacy to represent a variety of Michigan communities on policy issues

Value Health Partners includes:

Allegiance Health System, Jackson
Bronson Healthcare Group, Kalamazoo
Covenant HealthCare, Saginaw
Lakeland HealthCare, St. Joseph
Munson Healthcare, Traverse City
Sparrow Health System, Lansing
Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids

Spectrum Health Butterworth and Blodgett hospitals are certified primary stroke centers and provide prompt stroke patient care, including advanced treatment options as well as other defined standards of The Joint Commission, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. Spectrum Health also has an online stroke risk assessment posted at www.spectrumhealth.org/strokerisk for people who want to learn their personal risk factors and what they can do to prevent stroke. More information about stroke is available at www.spectrumhealth.org/stroke.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of nine hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a state of the art children’s hospital that opened in January 2011, and 190 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 600 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 600,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with more than 18,000 employees. The organization provided $176.5 million in community benefit during its 2011 fiscal year.