“The two days flew by, I wish it could have been longer.”
This feedback, from a delegate at the recent Angels Day in Indonesia, echoed the feelings of the 127 participants who’d gathered at Hotel Harris Kelapa Gading in Jakarta on 10 and 11 May for a two-day program of stroke presentations and workshops by leading experts.
“I gained amazing new insights that hopefully can be applied right away once I return,” commented another.
Angels Day Indonesia is now an annual event where knowledge-sharing by experts and practical workshops equip participants with the necessary information and skills to improve stroke care at their hospitals. To this end, the two-day agenda includes thought-provoking presentations and hands-on workshops designed to prepare healthcare professionals to optimize care for acute stroke patients.
The 2025 agenda was specifically designed to address problems that had been observed in the field, and to help hospitals tackle these challenges. Issues such as how to create a stroke team within a hospital, concerns regarding complications during treatment, stroke scale scoring, and optimizing the patient pathway, were all incorporated into plenary materials and day-one hands-on workshops. In addition, given the importance of teamwork in caring for stroke patients, each of the 43 participating hospitals was represented by a multidisciplinary delegation consisting of a neurologist, ER physician, and nurse.
Ministry of Health delegates drg. Andi Hadijah Pradita from the Health Crisis Center and dr. Husni Arbie from the Directorate of Primary Service opened the event with an overview of stroke care and public safety centers in Indonesia. They highlighted opportunities for stroke care improvement and collaboration, including with the emergency medical services.
Angels Project Director Katarina Moulinet presented a global update about the Angels Initiative’s impactful actions around the world, followed by an update on stroke care in Indonesia by dr. Adin Nulkhasanah, Sp.S, MARS. Dr Nulkhasanah is national coordinator of the Official Stroke Program (Pengampuan Stroke) under the Ministry of Health RI, and a member of the Angels steering committee in Indonesia.
The session on Developing a Stroke Team in a Hospital took the form of a panel discussion among leading experts dr. Olivia Josephine Wijaya, Sp.N, Prof. Dr. dr. Syahrul, Sp.S(K), and Dr. dr. Rivan Danuaji, Sp.N(K), M.Kes. The session ignited in-depth discussion and sparked interest in building multidisciplinary teams to optimize the stroke care flow.
Concluding the plenary session on day one, dr. Muhammad Kurniawan, Sp.S(K), FICA, M.Sc kindled an appetite for change and optimization with his presentation on the Hyperacute Phase and Decision Making in Stroke.
A series of multi-disciplinary masterclasses commenced after lunch as groups of participants rotated through a workshop program that included hyperacute pathway optimization presented by dr. Peter Gunawan, Sp.S, and the NIHSS stroke scale with dr. Raissa Alfaathir, Sp.N. Dr. dr Lisda Amalia, Sp.S(K) led the code stroke simulation workshop featuring Body Interact cases supported by Angels consultants.
The final session was split between doctors who attended a workshop on Imaging in Acute Stroke with dr. Haidyan Wahyu, M.Res, Sp.Rad, and nurses who received training in dysphagia screening and the FeSS protocol. The workshop on Acute and Post-acute Nursing Care was presented by Dr. dr. Ns. Enny Mulyatsih, S.Kep, M.Kep, Sp.KMB, and Ns. Elis Nurhayati, S.Kep, M.Kep, Sp.KMB.
Opening the agenda on day two, the presentation, Contraindication and Recanalization Complication Management, by dr. Ita Muharram, Sp.N(K), elicited a great deal of discussion from participants seeking to learn more about the management of some cases. Next, a video-supported overview of thrombectomy in Indonesia by dr. Achmad Firdaus Sani, Sp.S, FINS, Subsp.NIIOO(K) generated a high level of interest.
After the coffee break, Angels team leader for Indonesia Rika Aprijanti Hutagalung introduced the Angels Regions pilot project, which will see entire regions certified as Angels Regions and deemed safe for stroke. To become an Angels Region, criteria must be met in respect of public awareness education, stroke-ready hospitals and emergency medical services.
Prehospital stroke care came under scrutiny in a presentation by dr. Wahyuni Dian, Sp.EM, Ph.D, of Siloam Mampang in Jakarta. Siloam Ambulance Call Center is the first in Indonesia to win an EMS Angels Award.
Finally, dr. Ita Muharram Sari, Sp.N(K) led participants through a tutorial on using RES-Q for monitoring stroke care quality in hospitals and EMS. RES-Q, one of the world’s largest quality registries for stroke, is a partner of the Angels Awards Programs, providing a third-party platform for evaluating performance. It streamlines data reporting and gives hospital and prehospital teams immediate access to feedback and country benchmarking that allows them to implement targeted improvements to benefit their stroke patients.
Both the expert presentations and masterclasses sparked strong interest and enthusiasm from the participants. The Q&A sessions elicited lively discussion as many participants shared their current situation and demonstrated their spirit and willingness to tackle shortcomings within their territories.
Angels Day Indonesia delivered a memorable experience for participants who enjoyed two days packed with insightful knowledge-sharing plus practical skills that will raise standards in stroke care at the participating hospitals, and ultimately save lives.
