Piedmont Rockdale's Neurohospitalist program provides expert stroke care close to home

Conyers, Ga. (May 28, 2026) – Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, and in Georgia, death rates are approximately 30% higher than the national average. Piedmont Rockdale is strengthening care close to home with a dedicated Neurohospitalist program designed to improve outcomes for patients experiencing stroke and other neurological conditions.

The program provides daily on-site neurological care for hospitalized patients. Led by board-certified neurologists and stroke specialists Jennifer Ro, M.D. and Kush Sharma, M.D., the Neurohospitalist program enhances the hospital’s capabilities as a DNV-certified Primary Stroke Center, ensuring patients receive timely, expert care when every second counts.

“Neurology is an exam-heavy field,” Dr. Ro explained. “Having a Neurohospitalist team at Piedmont Rockdale means we can identify subtleties in a patient’s condition after they experience a stroke. We can also provide tailored treatment and take time to educate patients and families.”

Neurohospitalists are physicians who focus exclusively on treating patients in the hospital with strokes and other acute neurological conditions like seizures that require hospitalization. The subspeciality emerged in the late 1990s to reduce burden on community-based neurologists, who had to leave their outpatient clinics to evaluate stroke patients admitted to the hospital. This also coincided with major breakthroughs in stroke care, such as the use of clot-busting medications.

In addition to treatment, Drs. Ro and Sharma focus on prevention by identifying risk factors and coordinating follow-up care after discharge. This helps reduce the likelihood of future strokes and supports long-term neurological health.

“We invested in the Neurohospitalist program to meet the need for personalized, high-level stroke care in our community,” said Piedmont Rockdale CEO Monica Hum, M.D. “We are receiving excellent feedback from patients and families, reflecting the high-quality care and support our Neurohospitalist team provides.”

For Dr. Ro, gratitude from patients is one of the reasons she was drawn to the field. “Patients are so relieved when they have an explanation for their neurological symptoms, which can be scary and disorienting,” she said. “It’s an honor to take care of patients and see them recover from conditions that until recently didn’t have many treatment options.”

During American Stroke Month, Piedmont Rockdale encourages the community to remember the warning signs of stroke using the acronym BE FAST:

• Balance problems, including dizziness or loss of coordination
• Eye problems, including blurred vision, double vision, or vision loss
• Face symptoms, including drooping or numbness on one side of the face
• Arm or leg numbness or weakness
• Speech difficulty, including slurred speech, trouble speaking, or inability to speak
• Time to call 911

Dr. Ro emphasized the importance of calling 911 and going to the hospital by ambulance rather than driving. Paramedics can alert the emergency room, start an IV, and obtain an initial history. This saves time once you get to the hospital, which may mean less time waiting and quicker treatment.