GAYLORD HOSPITAL INC

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is a rehabilitation-focused, nonprofit health system headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut, that provides inpatient and outpatient care for people at every point in their journey from illness or injury to maximum recovery.

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is anchored by Gaylord Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital, and includes Gaylord Outpatient Services and Gaylord Physical Therapy for patients who require diagnosis and treatment on an outpatient basis. Together, these entities deliver a complete continuum of rehab care driven by technology, research, clinical experience, and human compassion.

Patients and their families choose Gaylord Specialty Healthcare because of its reputation for returning people to their maximum function after a catastrophic accident or illness. Gaylord’s national reputation for expert rehabilitation therapy includes spinal cord injury, traumatic or acquired brain injury, stroke, multiple system failure, complex and rare illnesses, ventilator weaning, pulmonary disease and complex wound care.

Gaylord admits patients from across the United States as well as internationally. Gaylord is CARF-accredited and is the only healthcare facility in Connecticut, and among only a handful worldwide, to earn specialty accreditations in Spinal Cord System of Care, Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Stroke Specialty Program. Gaylord also operates the only transitional living center in Connecticut for patients with brain injury.

Gaylord offers more than 50 specialized services including aquatics, wheelchair assessment service, orthotic and prosthetic clinic, modified barium swallow test, neuropsychological evaluations for age three and up, support groups, radiology, therapeutic recreation, occupational and physical therapy, ARMobility, hand therapy, functional independence training program, respiratory care, sports medicine, community fitness programs, specialized wound care, cancer rehabilitation, transitional living services, and assistive technology, including the EKSO Bionics wearable exoskeleton and ReWalk exoskeleton.

Gaylord is also home to the Spinal Cord Injury Assoc. of CT - A Chapter of United Spinal. Gaylord experts additionally treat patients with rare diseases such as ALS, Necrotizing fasciitis, and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Our Brain Health and Concussion Care Center provides expert information and assessments for patients as well as athletes, and the community at large.

Gaylord has three service lines:
1. Inpatient services, for people in need of long-term medical management and rehabilitation;
2. Outpatient care for those requiring speech, occupational and physical therapies on a less acute level compared to inpatient cases; and
3. Traurig House, Connecticut’s only transitional living center for people recovering from, and learning to live with, brain injury.

Please find below a description of clinical and non-clinical programs that Gaylord Specialty Healthcare offers:
• Brain Injury – One of the most comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation programs in the East, patients are guided through a continuum of care from post-coma stages through community re-entry.
• Medically Complex- Gaylord provides care to those with multiple serious health problems due to illness or injury who no longer require the intensive monitoring of an acute care hospital, but require ongoing medical management around the clock by Physicians, Registered Nurses, and Respiratory Care Practitioners.
• Orthopedic Rehabilitation- A skilled, interdisciplinary team of specialists treats those with musculoskeletal problems caused by disease or injury –patients with amputations, arthritis, bilateral joint replacements and fractures.
• Spinal Cord Injury- Designated as a Model Spinal Cord System in 2007, each patient receives an individually tailored treatment plan focused on the physical and emotional recovery and rehabilitation of spinal cord dysfunction from trauma or disease.
• Stroke Recovery- Gaylord has more than 50 years of experience in the successful rehabilitation of people with stroke. Individualized therapy programs deal with impairments such as partial paralysis, speech loss, swallowing problems, and perceptual or visual problems.
• Neurological Rehabilitation – Various neurological disorders such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Guillain-Barre, post-Polio syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, Myasthenia Gravis and Multiple Sclerosis are treated at Gaylord.
• Pulmonary – the pulmonary program offers services to those with acute and chronic respiratory insufficiency. Patients undergo oxygen weaning, general conditioning and mobilization programs.
• Sports Association Program – The Sports Association provides adaptive sports for people with physical or visual disabilities, including Veterans. The largest program in the state, the Sports Association offers 15 adaptive sports including fishing, archery, Boccia, golf, rock climbing, alpine and water skiing and wheelchair curling to name a few. Gaylord underwrites four competitive teams (Sled Hockey, Tennis, Wheelchair Rugby and Paratriathlon) as well as holding the only adaptive golf tournament in the state: the Ken Murphy Memorial Open. This program provides critical socialization, exercise, mental stimulation, and health benefits to former patients and community members. 260 days of sports programming per year with 250 athletes and 200+ volunteers assisting.
• Traurig House – The only residential facility in Connecticut for people with traumatic brain injuries and stroke, Traurig House is located on the Gaylord Specialty Healthcare campus in Wallingford. It accommodates up to eight patients with brain injury who have been discharged from an inpatient facility. Patients who benefit from this program need more rehabilitative therapies and time to re-learn activities of daily living skills such as cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and creating and following daily schedules before returning home. Residents also participate in community out-trips where they work on reintegrating into the community. Trips include visits to the Post Office, bank, library, Movie Theater and malls where they master everyday tasks such as filling out and totaling a deposit slip, purchasing tickets or navigating a crowded store aisle at Target.
• Patient Family Guest Cottages – The Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Cottage and the MoraLee Cottages are guest accommodations on campus where families of inpatients can stay and benefit from close proximity to their loved one. The Cottages provide an affordable option to families with limited means as the fee is less than nearby hotels and the hospital often can waive the fee if there is a hardship. The demand for campus housing has increased significantly and the hospital just finished building the four unit MoraLee building to meet the needs.
• Special Needs Fund – This fund was created to meet the constant and varied needs of patients who cannot afford certain services, equipment or programs essential to their recovery or discharge. Examples include paying for a ramp to be installed on a home so a newly paralyzed patient can go home in a wheelchair; or vouchers for MyRide or a wheelchair van to get to Gaylord for outpatient therapy or doctor visits. The Special Needs Fund also purchases items that insurance won’t cover such as durable medical equipment, ambulance transportation and even clothing for patients to attend therapy sessions since many arrive at Gaylord in a hospital gown from the referring hospital.
• ThinkFirst ®– ThinkFirst is a national injury prevention program designed to encourage children and teens to “think first” to avoid dangerous behaviors and activities that could lead to a brain or spinal cord injury. Not wearing a helmet while bike riding or texting and driving are some of the risky behaviors that Gaylord therapists educate against. Through grants and other funding we offer free community outreach education programs to all schools in the state, from elementary through high school level as well as community groups. Presentations often include a person who has experienced a spinal cord injury or brain injury who tells their story. An objective of the program includes helping youth understand that the decisions they make can affect not only themselves but others.
• Galya, the Facility Dog–Gaylord has a highly trained Facility dog that is integrated into the rehabilitation of our stroke, brain injury and spinal cord injury patients. Galya, the golden retriever, is known for creating miracles such as enabling a stroke victim to open her eyes only when the dog was present, and helping a brain-injured girl who otherwise refused to get out of bed for her speech and physical therapy sessions unless she was able to take Galya outside for a walk.
• Model Spinal Cord Injury System – Along with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Gaylord Specialty Healthcare makes up the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center – one of only 14 in the nation. The purpose of the collaboration is to conduct leading national patient spinal cord injury research funded by the US government and to provide direct information and referral services to injured patients and their families in New England. The process for becoming a spinal cord injury model system is rigorous and Gaylord reapplies for the grant every five years.
• Peer Mentoring Program for People with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) – This program pairs former ABI patients with current patients to provide informal support, direction, and counsel for patients with new brain injuries. Mentors are given extensive training by a Gaylord social worker with many years’ experience in the field. The ABI Program offers comfort and hope to new patients and purpose and increased self-esteem for the mentors.