The Western States Stroke Consortium is established to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with cerebrovascular disease in the Western United States, addressing in particular the West's unique challenge of sparse, widely scattered populations who often live far from major stroke centers. The Consortium will address this challenge through several approaches:

• Improved communication and interchange between physicians caring for patients with stroke
• Community education directed at stroke prevention and at teaching early recognition of stroke symptoms
• Physician education in stroke diagnosis, acute therapy and preventive treatment
• Development of optimal approaches to acute and convalescent stroke care in both urban and rural hospitals
• Improved rehabilitation of stroke victims