Gaylord Hospital Inc

Programs: Established in 1902 as a tb sanatorium, gaylord hospital has grown into a 137-bed long-term acute care hospital specializing in medically complex care and rehabilitation. Our national reputation for rehabilitation therapy includes specialized care for patients who have experienced life-altering events such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and stroke. These patients require significant levels of clinical care and participate in specialized treatment programs with the goal of medical recovery, improved function through rehabilitation and the ability to return to independence. Gaylord's inpatient hospital in wallingford admits 1,400 patients annually. Gaylord sees outpatients in wallingford and north haven and has over 77,400 annual visits. Gaylord hospital also supports the region's economy as the third largest employer in wallingford, operating with a staff of approximately 900 full-time, part-time and per-diem employees. Gaylord hospital is accredited by the joint commission on accreditation of healthcare organizations. Its inpatient rehabilitation program is accredited by the commission for accreditation of rehabilitation facilities in the areas of spinal cord injury and stroke rehabilitation. Gaylord also is affiliated with the yale university school of medicine and the university of connecticut school of medicine. Gaylord also has a clinical partnership with quinnipiac university medical school and school of allied health. Mission statement: gaylord hospital's mission is to preserve and enhance a person's health and function. The role of the hospital in connecticut: gaylord hospital fulfills a unique place in the health care continuum. The hospital's 137 licensed beds represent a significant part of the rehabilitation, long-term acute and chronic disease hospital capacity existing in the state. Gaylord fills the gap between the acute care hospital and other tertiary levels of care such as the skilled nursing facility, home care agency or assisted living center. By providing a hospital level of care, gaylord offers 24-hour medical, nursing and respiratory staff coverage. Therefore, it provides diagnostic and treatment resources at the hospital level of care, but with the option of longer length of stay (25 days or more) and at less cost than an acute care hospital. (see discussion under "market share" herein. ) more than 90 percent of the hospital's inpatient admissions are from acute care hospitals. Most outpatient therapy visits are driven by physician referrals. Program background and key services: patients admitted to gaylord for inpatient services may take advantage of the medical division or the rehabilitation division, depending on their individual needs. The medical division consists of the medically complex program for patients with serious medical issues due to illness or injury requiring 24-hour medical and nursing supervision; the ventilator care program for the care and weaning of patients from ventilators, and the pulmonary program for those with chronic respiratory insufficiency. The rehabilitation division addresses the needs of patients after experiencing acute accidents or illnesses that may leave them disabled in some way. The hospital's major programs are in pulmonary, stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, medically complex care and wound care. Partnering with boston university, the spinal cord injury program has become designated by the u. S. National institute on disability and rehabilitation research (nidrr) as a model system of care for spinal cord injury. Only 14 health care organizations in the country have this designation. Gaylord currently is involved in spinal cord injury-related care and research as the new england regional spinal cord injury center (nerscic) at gaylord. Gaylord has embraced technology as a way to improve function and outcomes in both its inpatients and outpatients. Gaylord is the only hospital in ct to have the ekso bionics robotic suit to help paraplegics walk. Gaylord is a myomo clinical partner and was the first in ct to offer this neuro-robotic technology for stroke patients. The hospital was also named a center of excellence by passy-muir speaking valve - one of only 14 in the country. Gaylord is the only hospital to employ the smartwheel in its wheelchair clinic to help patients who are wheelchair bound as well as pressure mapping systems for both adult and bariatric wheelchair-bound patients. Gaylord also offers fes stimbike and the bioness upper extremity - hand rehabilitation system. A key program for people with acquired brain injury is the louis d. Traurig transitional living center, a freestanding, eight-bed house on the main campus that offers them the opportunity to practice problem-solving techniques and enhance social skills in a supervised setting through peer interaction while continuing to receive physician, nursing and therapy services. The transitional living center is the only facility of its kind in connecticut. It is licensed by the connecticut state department of public health and addiction services. Gaylord's continuum of care for patients is extended through outpatient physician and therapy services. Improving accessibility to outpatient rehabilitation remains one of the hospital's priorities, which is why gaylord offers state residents three locations for therapy services in north haven, cheshire and wallingford. Collectively, more than 40 clinical services enhance the hospital's outpatient treatment programs. Gaylord center for concussion care provides a statewide resource for this growing issue and has worked with area schools, athletic teams and pediatricians to move focus to the danger of an untreated concussion. Professional and community education: gaylord focuses on community relationships to promote wellness and advance health care through education, research and improvement of clinical practice. Employees are actively engaged in community and professional organizations. More than 298 students participated in almost 13,586 hours of educational programming at gaylord in areas such as medical services, nursing, psychology, social work, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, therapeutic recreation, respiratory therapy and nutrition. Weekly medical and rehabilitation rounds at gaylord provided health care professionals and lay people with diverse topics related to timely topics in medicine and rehabilitation. Twelve one-hour programs granting continuing medical education credits were presented by staff and guest lecturers. The topics focused on diagnoses and treatment options in spinal cord injury, pulmonary disorders and ventilator weaning, brain injury, stroke and wound care. Gaylord staff members have been published in various media, primarily in medical journals related to their specialty. Gaylord staff also introduced the hospital and an overview of its services to approximately 300 school students to educate them about careers in health care and the benefits offered to patients. Patient and family education and support: the challenges that are experienced by people after illness or injury often require understanding, ongoing support and the best services possible. Gaylord provides care management, chaplain services and psychology services as part of our standard of care. Patient and family education also includes ongoing instructional classes for inpatients and their families as well as regularly scheduled, diagnosis-related support groups. Other forms of patient and family education include: - patient and family education guides are available to people with brain injury, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and stroke. - a library and resource center with a part-time medical librarian. - value-added services (for which gaylord is not reimbursed) include: - therapeutic recreation and sports activities for those with physical disabilities. - care management to gaylord's transitional living program residents.