Gaylord's Evolution

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare was founded in 1902 as a tuberculosis sanatorium and provided long-term treatment during the 50 years when the disease was endemic. Gaylord's expertise became recognized nationwide, and it became a destination for care. Many well-known individuals took advantage of its services, including playwright Eugene O’Neill.

The Growth of a Healthcare System

In the 1950s Gaylord turned its expertise to other forms of rehabilitation, beginning with chronic pulmonary disorders, then stroke, brain injury, and spinal cord injury, quickly establishing itself as the premier long-term acute care hospital in the state. 

Our work today is focused on building and strengthening a nonprofit healthcare system dedicated to rehabilitation at every level, from inpatient care for major illnesses and injuries to outpatient care for anyone facing a disabling condition, and physical therapy facilities across the state that enable people to live life to the fullest.

 
       Click the image below to see the "Spirit of Gaylord" flipbook, which provides more information and photos about all of the events and milestones noted in the timeline.  

Gaylord Milestones

1902 Gaylord Sanatorium founded to treat tuberculosis
1904 First six patients are admitted
1912 American playwright Eugene O'Neill is treated for tuberculosis at Gaylord
1926 Gaylord became the first sanatorium in the country to offer its facilities to the United States Public Health Laboratory National Research Committee
1946 Dr. Selman A. Waksman received the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for his discovery of streptomycin which, with other new drugs, accelerated the demise of tuberculosis
1948 Gaylord Farm Sanatorium became Gaylord Hospital to address the health care issues of people with chronic illnesses
1954 Gaylord became New England's first hospital specializing in comprehensive rehabilitation
1966 Medicare and Medicaid became part of the health care culture across the country
1989 Dedication of The Louis D. Traurig House, a transitional living facility for people with brain injuries
1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act is signed into law
1991 Gaylord assumed operation and management of its first outpatient satellite, the Gaylord/Yale-New Haven Rehabilitation Center at Long Wharf
1991 Gaylord and Yale University School of Medicine establish a professional affiliation
1993 Dedication of the 60,000 square foot Richard Jackson Pavilion for ambulatory care
1996 Gaylord joins the National Handicapped Sports Association
1997 Acquisition of the New Haven Sleep Disorders Center
1998 Opening of the third satellite specializing in sleep medicine in Fairfield. The center expands to a 6-bed lab in the Trumbull Marriott Hotel in 2006 before relocating to new quarters in Trumbull in 2010.
1999 Gaylord opens a sleep center in West Hartford. The center moves to Glastonbury in 2007.
2004 Gaylord opens another site devoted to outpatient services and sleep services in Guilford.
2006 Gaylord partners with Healthtrax Fitness and Wellness to open the Gaylord Wellness Center that houses a state-of-the-art fitness center, Gaylord Outpatient Center and Gaylord Sleep Medicine.
2007 Gaylord breaks ground in June for new 36-bed Milne Pavilion, which opened in December 2008.
2008 Gaylord partners with Boston Medical Center to become designated by the U.S. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research as a Model System of Care for Spinal Cord Injury.
2012 Gaylord acquires the Ekso Bionic Exoskeleton to help individuals with lower-body weakness or paralysis to walk
2013 Gaylord opens the Center for Concussion Care
2014 Gaylord is designated as a Passy-Muir Center of Excellence
2015 Gaylord is designated as a Vapotherm Center of Excellence
2015 Gaylord opens the Center for Brain Health
2016 Gaylord opens a Gaylord Physical Therapy  in Cheshire, CT
2020 Gaylord opens Gaylord Physical Therapy in Cromwell, CT
2020 Gaylord launches the Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation
2021 Renovations completed of inpatient care units on Lyman 1 and renovations began on Hooker 1
2022 Gaylord open Gaylord Physical Therapy in Madison, CT