Free Community Lecture on Stroke Warning Signs

The Lompoc Hospital District Foundation is offering a free community lecture on “Stroke: Why Every Minute Matters.”

The special presentation will be held Monday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Dick DeWees Community and Senior Center. The center is located at 1120 W. Ocean Ave.

While the Foundation’s free community education lectures are usually held on Wednesdays, this upcoming lecture will be offered next Monday.

The free, informative community presentation will help attendees learn to recognize the signs of stroke, covering the FAST/B.E. FAST warning signs and what to do in a stroke emergency. Learning about stroke symptoms and recovery is critical, as stroke is the fifth leading cause of death.

During the lecture, presenters will discuss:

• Types of Stroke: Ischemic, Hemorrhagic and TIA
• Recognizing Stroke Symptoms
• How to Reduce your Stroke Risk
• Code Stroke: Hospital response
• Life After Stroke

The evening’s speakers are Lauren Fink, BSN, RN, CNRN, SCRN. Fink is the Clinical Manager, Service Line Operations – Neuroscience at Cottage Health in Santa Barbara. She has been at Cottage since 2010, where she has worked in Neurology/Urology as well as the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. She has been the Cottage stroke program coordinator and holds a Certified Neuroscience RN and is a Stroke Certified RN.

Also presenting Monday evening will be Registered Nurse Ryan Stevens, the director of Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s Emergency Department. The LVMC ED is in the process of recertification of its Stroke Ready Hospital designation through the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ).

Reservations are not required to attend the Stroke presentation.

The Foundation will also hold a special event on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the DeWees Center. The free “Nourish Lompoc: Pasta Fagioli Edition” will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. at the center. The event is designed to empower seniors and community volunteers with cooking skills, nutrition knowledge and access to locally grown, rescued produce. During the event, participants will turn surplus food into a delicious, healthy meal to take home. Participants must participate in the education class at the event in order to take home the meal. Reservations are recommended but not required for Nourish. Space is limited and will be first come, first served for non-registered participants. To register, call 805-737-5752 or email woolseyh@lompocvmc.com.