Dr. Wanahita is a board-certified Stroke Neurologist with neurointerventional training and experience. She completed her residency at the University of Louisville in 2007.
Dr. Wanahita is the CEO and co-founder of Regional Brain Institute (RBI), a multispecialty physician-owned practice group that is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is a nationally recognized expert in all phases of clinical stroke care and is known for her tireless dedication to patients.
She is a pioneer of stroke care delivery systems, having created a network of on-site and telemedicine-based stroke care service relationships between RBI and over 30 healthcare facilities across Middle America’s metropolitan, rural, and tribal communities to delivers essential specialist services as close to the patient’s home as feasible with the goals of enhancing the quality of outcomes and consistency of patient satisfaction.
Dr. Wanahita serves as Stroke Program Medical Director for the Muscogee Nation, the Cherokee Nation (PSC), Good Samaritan Hospital (PSC), Hillcrest Medical Center (CSC), and SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – OKC (CSC). She previously served as Stroke Program Medical Director of two rural Oklahoma hospitals and one Tulsa-based health system, which she led to become the first Joint Commission Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in Northeastern Oklahoma.
Dr. Wanahita is a thought leader in the field of stroke neurology, authoring over 20 peer-reviewed articles, conducting over 20 clinical research studies, regularly giving presentations, and participating on numerous local and national stroke-related committees and boards.
She is committed to training the next generation of healthcare providers as a faculty member of multiple academic institutions over the years, including the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Wanahita has received numerous awards for teaching and clinical excellence, including national awards from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and the International Stroke Conference.
2004-2008 Pi Delta National Podiatric Honor Society
2008 Recipient of CSPM Dean’s Scholarship
The PAs Essential Role in Stroke Care (Acute, Subacute, and Inpatient)
Objectives:
- Identify and rapidly assess acute stroke presentations using standardized tools (BEFAST, NIHSS) and implement time-sensitive emergency protocols including appropriate imaging and treatment pathways.
- Describe evidence-based acute stroke interventions including proper administration of IV thrombolytics (tPA), blood pressure management protocols, and criteria for mechanical thrombectomy referral.
- Describe comprehensive inpatient stroke monitoring including neurological assessments, post-tPA care protocols, hemorrhagic stroke management, and recognition of stroke complications.