New Haven Register
By Elizabeth L. T. Moore
September 22, 2023
WALLINGFORD — As Heather Wagner strummed her guitar to warm up her audience, they were warming up their bodies. Five stroke patients sat in a semicircle with a rehabilitation aide, an occupational therapist and Wagner, a music therapist, as part of the music therapy program at Gaylord Hospital.
People in this “hemi group” have one side of the body that is weaker due to stroke. They meet almost every day for therapy. On "Fun Fridays," Wagner joins, providing music for the group’s regular exercise session.
Read More
WTNH News Channel 8
By Sarah Cody
September 28, 2023
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) – “I’m internally an Iron Man,” says Mike van Emmenes. “I have rods in my pelvis that will stay there for life.”
The result was a terrible biking accident in 2021. The Guilford dad suffered a shattered pelvis along with broken ribs and vertebrae.
Even so, one year and one week after this event, van Emmenes completed an Iron Man competition in Lake Placid.
“For me, to have my family there with me and to accomplish what I set out to do was tremendous, just tremendous,” he says.
Channel 3 News
By Marc Robbins
Sep. 19, 2023
HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - For the 11 years, Gaylord Hospital has sponsored a Bass Fishing Tournament for Military Veterans.
Twenty-five veterans and their boat captains looked for the right spot to catch “the big one” on Lake Congomond.
Boat Captain, Tommy Marzano said, “I do it for all the vets. I meet great people and get them out on the water. I really enjoy it.”
It’s not only a bonding experience for each pair but also the Vets delve into the excitement of reeling one in.
“Gaylord Hospital got Sue on her way to a miracle,” claims 86-year-old Ron Monforte. “That’s all there is to it.”
In 2006, Ron’s daughter Susan Fazzino – then 45 – was walking by her father’s side when she indicated that she suddenly wasn’t feeling well.
“She passed out and dropped to the ground,” her father recalled. “I went to grab her, but she hit her head hard on the concrete floor.”
Still unconscious by the time they reached the emergency room, Sue was rushed into surgery to repair the massive brain bleed that threatened her life. Ron remembers walking into her hospital room after the five-hour operation. Seeing Sue lying motionless and surrounded by the beeping machines keeping her alive, he said, was a stark contrast to...
Read More
CTInsider
By Lise Klein
Sept. 17, 2023
Expanded meditation and wellness programs, a certified nursing assistant academy and added opportunities for research are among the recent initiatives at Wallingford’s Gaylord Specialty Healthcare spearheaded by President and CEO Sonja LaBarbera.
LaBarbera, 49, took the top job at Gaylord in 2019 and soon faced the challenge of dealing with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic while keeping the nonprofit health system’s expansion on track.
WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, September 18, 2023 – Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a rehabilitation-focused nonprofit healthcare system headquartered in Wallingford, is pleased to announce that it has received a grant award of $7,500 from Connecticut Community Foundation.
The generous donation from the Waterbury-based foundation will help fund high-quality bedside and group music therapy sessions for hundreds of Gaylord inpatients and outpatients recovering from life-altering neurological injuries and illnesses.
“Music therapy has been shown to improve patients’ quality of life and make a difference in their physical, social, and psychological function,” explained Katie Butler, certified therapeutic recreation specialist.
Read More
WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, September 18, 2023 — Gaylord Specialty Healthcare today announced that it has been named a “Top Workplaces 2023” by Hearst Connecticut Media for the third consecutive year. The nonprofit rehabilitation-focused healthcare system ranked among large employers in Western Connecticut with more than 500 employees.
Gaylord also received the region’s “Top Workplace Culture Excellence Award - Innovation,” which recognizes an organization that has embedded innovation into its culture and created an environment where new ideas come from all employees.
Hearst Connecticut Media additionally named President and CEO Sonja LaBarbera as the winner of the region’s “Top Leader” award within the large employer category.
Read More
WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, September, 2023 - Patients recovering from life-altering illnesses and injuries will have the opportunity to gain essential mobility skills needed to be independent after discharge in Gaylord Hospital’s new Rutledge Family Garden, a transformative and multi-functional outdoor rehabilitation courtyard.
The innovative space was made possible with a lead grant from Greenwich-based Rutledge Family Foundation and additional funding from The Timken Foundation of Canton.
Spanning 5,700 square feet, the bi-level courtyard was designed by The Project Studio for Landscape Architect and Spatial Studies, Towers/Golde Landscape Architects and Site Planners, CAMA, and Redniss & Mead Civil Engineers with input from Gaylord therapy staff to ensure that construction met the...
Read More
CT Patch
By Michael Lemanski
August 21, 2023
SOUTHINGTON, CT — In 2018, current Southington resident Jessica Morea was living in Waterbury as a healthy active woman in her early 50s.
Then a devestating diagonosis changed her life forever, one that has since benefitted from a miraculous piece of medical technology she said has improved how she goes about her daily rituals.
One morning five years ago, she woke up with her hand completely numb, in her words, "almost as if I had slept on it the wrong way."
Record-Journal
By Sean Krofssik
August 16, 2023
WALLINGFORD – The Ken Murphy Memorial Open has been a Gaylord Hospital Sports Association tradition for more than two decades and will continue this Tuesday.
The Ken Murphy Memorial Open is a golf tournament for players with a physical disability or visual impairment and will feature about 24 golfers at The Farms Country Club – which borders Gaylord. It is named after Ken Murphy, Gaylord’s late Therapeutic Recreation supervisor. Murphy founded Gaylord Sports in 1995.