Stroke Center Patients Win Fee Reduction

Last November, the City of Carson imposed a $70 monthly fee to the Joseph B. Jr. and Mary Anne O�Neal Stroke Center for visitors from outside the city. Carson residents continue to participate free.


Carson�s stroke center, one of only two such facilities in Southern California, helps survivors of stroke regain physical abilities and build a community of support. The other center is in Palm Springs. Many of the stroke survivors in the Center�s database are considered low income or live on a fixed income. Some became permanently disabled, while others became full-time caregivers for their loved ones.


The $70 monthly fee quickly proved a financial hardship for most non-resident stroke survivors resulting in reduced participation, and during the past 16 months, overall attendance decreased by 48 percent. �The decision by the council destroyed our family,� said President of the Stroke Center Volunteer Association Dr. Sharma Henderson of the fees.


Henderson joined Stroke Center patients and advocates who rallied at the city�s March 5 council meeting to call upon the city to remove the non-resident fee. More than a dozen patients and advocates spoke passionately at the council meeting.


After lengthy discussion, the Council voted unanimously to remove the fees with a notation that priority for the Stroke Center be reserved for Carson residents.


At the council�s March 19 meeting, Henderson returned to thank the council and note that staff had been calling previous patients to �tell them to come home� to the Center.


She announced a free concert would be planned to fundraise to support the Stroke Center.