News

By Philip Silverio PT, DPT, OCS, CMPT How many times have you taken on a project you weren’t prepared for? Professional bakers recommend getting ingredients out (and measured) before starting a baking project. Painters ensure their tools are in place before taking their first brush stroke. Even marathon runners have a series of tasks to do prior to their race. If you’re not a baker, a painter or a marathon runner, you may be wondering, “why is this important to me?”   Four words – One Rep Max Living. Still confused? Read on.   Exercise prepares the body to safely, and effectively, perform activities of daily living (ADL). For example, lifting a grandchild, a gallon of paint, a medium bag of dog food or a bag of lawn fertilizer may cause injury if you aren’t used to...

 

WTNH Channel 8
by: WTNH Staff

Posted: Nov 18, 2021 

FARMINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Connecticut’s healthcare heroes were recognized Thursday night in a ceremony in Farmington...

Honoree Lisa Kalafus, vice president and Chief Nursing Officer at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, told News 8, “I couldn’t honestly do it without the tremendous support of our team at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare. Our nurses, especially our frontline staff, we need their expertise and their input to make great changes and to improve patient outcomes. It’s a true honor.”

New Haven Register
By Pam McLoughlin
Nov. 21, 2021

 

The 68-year-old retired hospice nurse couldn’t utter a word, however, because the part of her brain centered on speech and language had been damaged. “I danced from the minute I got up from my stroke,” Gallagher said. “Dance is my main creative outlet and thank God it is preserved,”...

"Show Me the Numbers"
Physical Therapy Products (pg. 18)
By Melanie Hamilton-Basich

Monitoring a patient's physical therapy process is not simple, but equipment designed to assess and track movements using concrete data can surely help. At Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford, Conn, therapists routinely use these solutions to lay the groundwork for a plan of care as well as communicate more clearly with patients.

"With these solutions, you can gather data and educate and talk with patients about how they are doing in a meaningful way," said Kayla Morin, PT, DPT, Outpatient Therapist, Level 2 Traumatic Brain Injury Specialist at Gaylord. Learn more about our technology #GivingTuesday goal

WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, November 16, 2021 – Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a rehabilitation-focused nonprofit healthcare system based in Wallingford, is pleased to announce that Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Kalafus, MSN, BSN, RN, was today honored as a 2021 Connecticut Health Care Hero by the Hartford Business Journal and New Haven Biz publications. The awards program identifies “outstanding healthcare leaders across the state who represent the epitome of a hero.” A Stratford resident, Kalafus was nominated by her Gaylord peers to receive the honor in the nursing category. Nurse Manager Nicole Morrill MSN, BSN, RN, explained that Kalafus recently instituted Gaylord’s first ‘shared governance,’ a practice model that empowers nurses to have accountability for decisions that impact policies,...

WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, November 9, 2021 — Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a nonprofit rehabilitation-focused healthcare system headquartered in Wallingford, today announced that Chris Hayes, former vice president of finance of Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, has been newly appointed as Gaylord’s chief financial officer. Hayes replaces retiring CFO Arthur Tedesco who served in that capacity for the last seven years.   A Cheshire resident, Hayes comes to Gaylord Specialty Healthcare with significant financial leadership experience in the healthcare sector. He joined Saint Mary’s Hospital – a member of Trinity Health of New England, one of the nation’s largest multi-institutional Catholic healthcare delivery systems – in 2001 as a financial analyst and has served as vice...

Greenwich Time
By Robert Marchant
Nov. 9, 2021

GREENWICH — George Kelakos hopes to be home in Greenwich for Christmas.

First, he says, he needs to build up some more strength after a near fatal bout with COVID-19, one that set a record at Greenwich Hospital for length of hospitalization.

"George 2.0,” as he likes to think of himself after his 146 days of hospitalization, has been working hard to regain his stamina and muscle mass. Kelakos was recently released from Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford where he began intensive rehabilitation services in August,

HBJ
Published October 29, 2021

A nurse for 34 years, Lisa Kalafus provides leadership and direction for nursing staff and is responsible for planning, organizing and directing all nursing functions at Gaylord. She previously spent 31 years at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where she held a number of leadership roles, including director of nursing operations.

Q: Why is she a HealthCare Hero?

It is said that Kalafus “leads with the heart.” Dedicated to providing nothing less than exceptional patient-centered care, she constantly exudes her commitment to Gaylord’s mission. Kalafus truly enriches the experience of her nursing staff through professional growth and recognition opportunities.

WESH.com
By Michelle Meredith
HARTFORD, Conn. — Robby Walker is a COVID-19 survivor. The Florida man is still recovering.

Walker's COVID-19 journey took him 1,000 miles north to Connecticut. He and his family live in Citrus County on Florida's west coast. In July he got COVID-19 and became very sick.

He needed a special device called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, which pumps oxygen into your blood. He called all over Florida and the country trying to get him into a hospital.

Family members say he was repeatedly denied because he had been intubated too long.

A doctor all the way in Hartford, Connecticut, saw a story posted on Facebook and invited him to receive treatment at their facility, St. Francis Hospital.

FOX 61 News
Author: Jim Altman

Published: 5:49 PM EDT October 13, 2021

WALLINGFORD, Conn. — Robby Walker calls it, “beyond miraculous.”

Walker’s nearly four-month ordeal battling back against COVID-19 looks like it will have a happy ending, but, in July, the odds were decidedly against the 52-year old father of six from an hour outside Orlando, Florida.

Unvaccinated at the time, Walker came down with COVID-19 and quickly found himself in a Florida ICU with his health failing.