Your Local Connection to a World of Care

McLaren's one-of-a-kind, interconnected healthcare network provides our patients with the best physicians and services when and where they need them most.

Author: Liz Kovac

From primary care to orthopedic surgery, McLaren Lapeer Region is your local connection to a world of care. Our one-of-a-kind, interconnected healthcare network provides our patients with the best physicians and services when and where they need them most.

The McLaren Advantage: Stroke and Cardiovascular Care

McLaren Lapeer is a nationally certified Primary Stroke Center and is part of a tele-neuro stroke network that includes 18 sites across the entire McLaren Health Care system. In 2021 we received the highest award for excellent stroke care in accordance with Joint Commissions Get With The Guidelines a Silver Plus Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.

The McLaren Stroke Network is the only program in Michigan - and one of only a handful in the nation - where every stroke patient is seen by a stroke trained interventional neurologist in minutes... any time, day or night.

“The McLaren Stroke Network makes specialized stroke care accessible to every patient,” said Jacqueline Raymond, Stroke Program Coordinator at McLaren Lapeer Region.

As part of the McLaren Stroke Network, interventional neurologists utilize a telemedicine ‘robot’ to provide consultative services within minutes of notification by onsite emergency and in-house physicians.

“Our TeleStroke System allows an interventional neurologist to beam to the patient’s bedside from a remote location,” said Raymond. “This allows the neurologist to assess the patient, review CT scan images, and discuss best treatment options with onsite physicians and the patient’s family.”

McLaren Lapeer treats an average of 30 stroke patients per month. “While most are treated in-house, we do transfer special cases to McLaren Flint,” said Raymond.

Only minutes from McLaren Lapeer Region, McLaren Flint bolsters a nationally recognized stroke program. The McLaren Flint stroke program has received Gold Plus, Target Stroke-Honor Roll Elite Plus, and Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy performance status with the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines program - the highest recognition awarded by the American Heart Association.

If you experience heart attack symptoms, McLaren Lapeer ensures that you will be assessed and treated within 90 minutes. This 90-minute standard is what medical professionals refer to as ‘door-to-balloon’.

“In the first five minutes of your arrival at the McLaren Lapeer Emergency Department you will be given an EKG,” said Betsy Felton, Director of McLaren’s Corporate Cardiovascular Service Line. “If this EKG comes back positive, you immediately are taken to Flint for an angioplasty.”

The 90-minute standard applies whether you are brought to the emergency department by ambulance or bring yourself in.

“If brought in by ambulance, you are given an EKG before even getting off the stretcher. This is so if your EKG comes back positive, no time is waisted getting you to Flint,” said Felton. “If you bring yourself in and your EKG indicates you need to be transferred, an ambulance will be called and will take you to Flint within the 90-minute window.”

McLaren Lapeer provides the initial, life-saving care for heart attack patients, and, because of the seamless interconnectedness of the McLaren system, patients can be transferred within minutes to McLaren Flint, which has the highest national ranking for Coronary Arter Bypass Surgery from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

The McLaren Advantage: Trauma Care

McLaren Lapeer Region is a Level II Trauma Center which means certified physicians and specialists are available 24/7 to provide critical care when you need it.

“As a Level II Trauma Center, we undergo a rigorous application and review process every 2-3 years to ensure we are maintaining requirements to properly care for critically injured patients,” said Jamie Oneil, Manager of the Trauma Program at McLaren Lapeer Region. This designation allows McLaren Lapeer to best serve patients in Lapeer County and beyond.

“We are the only Level II Trauma Center in the Thumb of Michigan,” said Oneil. “When choosing where to go in an emergency, coming straight to could save patients precious time.”

Through its nationally recognized status in the multi-hospital McLaren health Care system, McLaren Lapeer serves as your local connection to the best physicians and services. From emergency, primary, and specialized care, McLaren Lapeer ensures you will receive the best, anytime, anywhere.

The best minds in medicine are right here in your community. With McLaren Lapeer Region, you’re always closer to leading doctors and advanced specialty care, because our primary and urgent care providers are seamlessly connected with specialists across our network. And with McLarenNow virtual care, you can conveniently access. McLaren Lapeer Region physicians when you need them, wherever you are.

See the power of connection at mclaren.org/lapeerconnect.