The Johns Hopkins Bayview Stroke Intervention Clinic (BaSIC) is a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for patients who recently have suffered a stroke. Patients are seen within four to six weeks of their discharge from the neurology service, so that key follow-up issues, such as post-stroke depression and fatigue, can be addressed, persistent symptoms can be managed, and medications can be reconciled. Patients and families have the opportunity to see their stroke using neuro-imaging, with the goal of truly understanding why the stroke occurred and the best way to decrease the chance of a future event.

Our multidisciplinary approach allows for those with continued needs to be directly linked to our rehabilitation services. The program has already led to higher post-discharge follow-up rates, better adherence to risk factor modification strategies, and decreased rates of re-hospitalization.

In addition to patient care, BaSIC also serves as a clinical research environment focused on stroke outcomes. Together, we are identifying critical gaps in the knowledge of stroke recovery. Our long-term goal is to enhance post-stroke care by improving both symptomatic recovery and patient-centered outcomes. We are currently investigating factors related to cognitive decline post-stroke, and the influence of post-stroke depression, fatigue, and persistent symptoms on long-term recovery and quality of life for both patients and their families.