Neuroscience Continuum of Care

Stroke Care Gold Plus Award

St. Mary’s provides a complete continuum of care for stroke patients and others suffering from neurological conditions, including:

  • Emergency care,

    provided by caring, highly skilled physicians, nurses and support staff.

  • Outpatient medical care,

    providing continuity of care outside the hospital for people with any neurological condition in a clean, comfortable office near Watkinsville. For more information, visit St. Mary's Neurological Specialists at www.stmarysneuro.com.

  • Acute care,

    including neurosurgery, intensive care and inpatient nursing.

  • Rehabilitative medicine,

    providing intensive acute rehabilitation for those who need to continue rehab on an inpatient basis after their regular hospital stay is over. For more information, see our Center for Rehabilitative Medicine.

  • Outpatient rehabilitation,

    helping patients regain maximum independence and function after discharge from the hospital or inpatient rehabilitation.

  • Home Health Care Services,

    providing nursing care, rehab, home health aides and more for patients who are home-bound. For more information see, Home Health Care.

  • Retirement living,

    with independent living apartments and personal care facilities at St. Mary’s Highland Hills Village Retirement Community.

  • Hospice care,

    with a wide range of services for patients diagnosed with a terminal illness and their families. For more information see Home Hospice.

St. Mary’s also provides:

Sleep Disorders Center

St. Mary’s comfortable, home-like sleep lab provides diagnostic testing for dozens of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea. Patient rooms resemble nice hotel rooms, not clinical settings. Tucked away near the patient’s bedroom is a high-tech monitoring center in which sleep technicians continuously monitor patients and computers record more than a dozen variables such as leg movement, brain activity, heart rate, eye movement and breathing patterns.

Neurodiagnostic lab

St. Mary’s high-tech Neurodiagnostic Lab evaluates brain and nervous system function The highly specialized staff helps patients through services such as:

  • Encephalograms (EEGs). EEGs record the electrical activity of the brain.
  • Long term EEG monitoring with video. Patients are admitted to the hospital, usually for 24-48 hours, and a continuous EEG is recorded along with video to assess physical change with changes in brain wave activity. Patients keep a diary of their events and are visually monitored by the nursing staff during their stay.
  • Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS). These studies evaluate the speed at which nerve signals travel and can help diagnose if the nerves are working properly.
  • Electromyograms (EMG). EMGs test how well the nerves and muscles interact.
  • Intra-operative monitoring. Intra-operative monitoring is performed during brain and spinal surgery to ensure that there are no changes in conduction and function of the nervous system. The information is transmitted to a neurologist’s office for immediate interpretation and this information is conveyed to the surgeon so changes can be made if needed.
  • Evoked potential studies. These studies evaluate the integrety of the visual (VER), auditory (BAER), and Somatosensory (SER) systems.

Children’s Specialty Services

St. Mary’s brings some of Georgia’s leading experts in pediatric neurology to Athens to see children here, close to home, when they need highly specialized care. The service helps children living with a variety of neurological conditions lead fuller, happier, more independent lives.