CentraState Medical Center is an Advanced Primary Stroke Center with licensed certification from The Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. We are among an elite group of hospitals in New Jersey and across the country with a specially trained “Stroke Alert” response team.
CentraState Medical Center is an Advanced Primary Stroke Center with licensed certification from The Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. We are among an elite group of hospitals in New Jersey and across the country with a specially trained “Stroke Alert” response team.
SERVICES
“Stroke Alert” Response Team
The stroke response team includes an emergency department (ED) physician, a neurologist, an emergency department registered nurse, and a stroke coordinator, all of whom have special training in caring for stroke patients.
Around-the-Clock Care
The team is available around the clock to assess patients immediately upon their arrival at the emergency department and initiate appropriate stroke treatment, which may include the administration of a “clot-busting” medication.
Post-Hospital Rehabilitation
CentraState is also available to assist with stroke rehabilitation and recovery following stroke treatment. We offer five convenient locations throughout Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Mercer counties.
TRANSITION OF CARE STROKE OUTPATIENT CLINIC
Patients who have been hospitalized for a stroke or TIA need comprehensive follow-up care in the first weeks after hospital discharge to ensure the best outcomes.
Our Transition of Care Stroke Outpatient Clinic builds on the inpatient care you received for your stroke or TIA so that you continue to recover and prevent additional complications.
Before you leave the hospital we will set an appointment with a nurse who will:
- Provide education to patients and caregivers
- Monitor progress
- Help coordinate care and services, including rehabilitation appointments
- Review prescriptions
- Provide reports to your neurologist or primary care physician for post-stroke care
STROKE SYMPTOMS AND PREVENTION

When a patient is experiencing stroke symptoms, every second counts in preventing or limiting damage to brain tissue. Symptoms of a stroke include:
- Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or loss of coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
If you or someone you know experiences any of these warning signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year. While it is more common among people age 65 and older, it can happen at any age. In fact, an estimated one in 10 people who experience a stroke are under the age of 45.
Certain risk factors can increase your chances of having a stroke, including:
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol, especially LDL or “bad cholesterol”
- Excess weight and uncontrolled diabetes
- Excessive alcohol use—more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women
- Smoking, which has been shown to double stroke risk
- Atrial fibrillation (or AFib), an irregular and sometimes rapid heartbeat
- Being over age 65 or of African American, American Indian or Native Alaskan descent

The same healthy habits that help protect your heart can also help prevent a stroke:
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and choose foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol
- Maintain a healthy weight—excess belly fat, in particular, greatly increases your risk for cardiovascular disease
- Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days
- Don’t smoke
- Limit alcohol use
- Work with your doctor to properly manage chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes

If you’d like to learn about how to prevent stroke and manage your health, CentraState’s Star and Barry Tobias Health Awareness Center can help. It offers more than 200 health education and lifestyle management programs to help you and your family achieve your health and wellness goals.
For more information, please call 732-308-0570.
PHYSICIANS

Paul Kostoulakos, DO
Neurology

Jeremy Dayner, M.D.
Emergency Medicine

Vasko Gulevski, M.D.
Neurology

Susan Lage, D.O.
Neurology

Mark Waciega, M.D.
Emergency Medicine

Vikas Khanna, M.D.
Emergency Medicine

Raymond Esquieres, M.D.
Pain Management, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Sergey Bogdan, M.D.
Pain Management, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Tracey Lee, M.D.
Emergency Medicine

Derek Schaible, M.D.
Emergency Medicine

Youssef Hannallah, MD
Emergency Medicine

Amor Mehta, MD
Epileptologist, Neurology

Rajat Kumar, M.D.
Neurology

Cindy McVey, N.P.C.
Certified Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Medicine

Arun Nangia, M.D.
Neurology

Terence McAlarney, M.D.
MS Center, Neurology

Diane Occhipinti, N.P.C.
Certified Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Medicine

Rajat Kumar, M.D.
Neurology

Francisco Del Valle, M.D.
Pain Management, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Scott Woska, M.D.
Pain Management, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Maria Choy, M.D.
Neurology

Lisa Mason, N.P.C.
Certified Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Medicine

Bruce Bonanno, M.D.
Emergency Medicine

Evander Duck, M.S., M.D.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Boris Furman, D.O.
Neurology
Francis S.
![]()
Francis S.
Francis Schultz is well-versed in remaining calm during stressful situations. The 64-year-old Jackson resident has volunteered as a first responder for more than four decades, most recently in the role of directing traffic and keeping people safe when fire or police services respond to a call. When Francis experienced his own emergency last March, he knew exactly what to do....Read More >
Kristin D.
![]()
Kristin D.
Ulcerative colitis by itself would have been bad enough. By the time Kristin Detamore, then 35, returned to work as a school social worker after the birth of her second son, she was accustomed to the pain from inflammatory bowel disease. But the headache baffled her. Unfortunately, the headache soon turned into something much more severe: partial paralysis in which Kristin...Read More >
Alex N.
![]()
Alex N.
That optimism came from a 24-year-old woman who just the year previously had her life turned upside down by a stroke. Now, more than two years later, Alex’s positivity has only grown as she continues to make remarkable progress in her recovery. In December 2012, Alex was just getting ready to go on winter break at her college in West...Read More >
REQUEST MORE INFORMATION
RELATED SERVICES
Take Action TODAY for a Healthier TOMORROW with These Important Screenings
You’ve done a great job of trying to keep yourself COVID-free, but it’s time to make the rest of your body a priority! Health screenings and regular visits to your primary care provider are the keys to early detection of a host of illnesses and your best path to maintaining...Read More>
Life After Stroke: Maximum Independence is the Goal
Adapting to the changes in life after suffering a stroke is challenging to say the least. There are new medications, therapies, and doctors one must see, not to mention the physical and emotional needs when recovering from a stroke. But patients recovering from stroke don’t need to do it alone. ...Read More>
Doo-Wop Singer Won’t Be Upstaged by Stroke: Quick Action Restores Voice to Jackson Resident
Tony Testa is most at home on stage. As the leader of the ‘60s doo-wop vocal group The Duprees, his voice is his instrument. When he woke up one morning unable to speak, he wondered if his 60-year career was over. Tony, 76, a resident of Jackson, is known for...Read More>