Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (NRMC) today announced the launch of NRMC Neurology Associates through its digital healthcare partnership with TeleSpecialists, a physician-owned teleneurology and telepsychiatry provider. The service builds on the TeleStroke, TeleNeuroHospitalist, and TeleEEG programs NRMC launched with TeleSpecialists earlier this year, extending specialized neurological care from the emergency department through scheduled outpatient follow-up.
Patients treated for stroke or other neurological conditions at NRMC have historically had limited options for specialist follow-up close to home, often traveling outside the greater Natchitoches region to continue their care after discharge. With NRMC Neurology Associates now live, that gap is closed. Patients can move from emergency treatment through recovery without leaving the community.
“Adding outpatient neurology is an important step in expanding access to specialized care for patients in our community,” said Kirk Soileau, Chief Executive Officer of Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. “By connecting emergency and inpatient neurological care with convenient outpatient follow-up, we can provide a more seamless continuum of care while allowing patients to receive the services they need closer to home.”
NRMC Neurology Associates pairs NRMC’s existing clinic staff with TeleSpecialists’ board-certified neurologists in a hybrid care model, providing patients with continuity of care from hospital discharge through recovery. The program is designed to address gaps in follow-up care that can contribute to avoidable readmissions or emergency department returns. In similar clinics with the TeleSpecialists’ model, wait times for a follow-up outpatient appointment have been reduced from six months to approximately ten days.
Laura Reaven, MD, a board-certified neurologist with TeleSpecialists whose clinical focus includes epilepsy, headaches, and movement disorders, will lead outpatient neurology care for NRMC patients. “Geography should never decide whether patients can access the Neurology care they need. NRMC Neurology Associates keeps care close to home, so families across the Natchitoches region can stay connected to the communities and support systems they know, while receiving the specialist care and follow-up a stroke, seizure, or migraine diagnosis demands. Patients will now have a neurologist guiding their outpatient care every step of the way, without having to travel far from the people and places that matter most,” Dr. Reaven said.
With NRMC Neurology Associates now live, NRMC and TeleSpecialists offer a complete continuum of neurological care for the greater Natchitoches region, from emergency stroke response and inpatient rounding through EEG interpretation and scheduled outpatient follow-up.