Jessica Crespo, RN
I have been with Gaylord for six years and I lead by example with my passion and devotion to my patients during these unprecedented times.
The battle against COVID-19 brought forth new challenges and revealed strengths and resilience within the Gaylord nursing team. COVID also created a time in which patients could not physically be with their loved ones. Our role as nurses became even more impactful to their stay at Gaylord providing a great deal of emotional support to both patients and their family members.
CARING FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS SHINED THE LIGHT ON THE BEAUTY OF THE ART OF NURSING.
Brittany Brown, RRT
In my six-year career as a respiratory therapist at Gaylord, I have worked with patients who have COPD, lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and many other cardiopulmonary diseases. Tracheostomies are common procedures at Gaylord that we care for on a daily basis.
Since the arrival of COVID, we are working extra diligently to make sure our patients are feeling safe, comfortable and able to breathe with ease. Many of these patients require respiratory services, whether it’s oxygen, inhaled medications and/or BiPAPs/CPAPs at night.
By BRIAN MARSCHHAUSER
November 23, 2020 at 10:30 AM
YORKTOWN, N.Y. – Vinny Malvarosa, a 51-year-old Yorktown resident, went to the emergency room on Wednesday, March 11, with a fever.
“I thought I would be gone two or three hours,” he said. “Instead, I was gone 103 days.”
At the hospital, Malvarosa was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and tested positive for COVID-19. Around midnight on Saturday, March 14, he was intubated and slipped into a month-long coma.
“One doctor said when she was given my case, she was told I wouldn’t live beyond the next couple of days,” Malvarosa said. “Somehow, I persevered and woke up sometime in mid-April. I couldn’t lift my arm to scratch my nose, but I was alive.”
Malvarosa spent the next two months in a rehab...
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WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, November 17, 2020 — Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a nonprofit rehabilitation-based healthcare system headquartered in Wallingford, is proud to announce that President and CEO Sonja LaBarbera, MSOL, MS CCC/SLP, was recognized by New Haven Biz with the Women Who Mean Business Award.
According to New Haven Biz, the second annual award was given to women leaders who “stand out from the crowd because of their achievements and their commitment to encourage others to succeed.”
LaBarbera, a Wallingford resident, is well-recognized among Connecticut’s healthcare leaders for her forward-thinking leadership, pledge to patient-centric care and commitment to cultivating a system of innovation and excellence.
New Haven Biz
November 24, 2020
The “Women Who Mean Business” honorees for 2020 have risen to the top of their respective fields, from finance to education, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing and architecture.
On Nov. 17, New Haven BIZ honored the achievements of six area women at a special online event, which was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second-annual event included networking and a live panel discussion, which was moderated by KeyBank.
Felicia Bolton
Posted: NOV 22, 2020 / 07:22 AM CST | Updated: NOV 22, 2020 / 07:22 AM CST
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (NewsNation Now) — Doctors at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Connecticut have created a program to treat patients dealing with the lingering effects of coronavirus.
For many COVID-19 patients, the joy of testing negative is often overshadowed by the remaining symptoms of the disease. With the help of doctors, patients are able to slowly return to a ”normal” life.
Vic Gara says his recovery is still in the works today.
Connecticut Magazine
By Mike Wollschlager
Nov 19, 2020
Sometimes it only takes a few seconds to make someone’s whole day. “It really is the small acts of kindness that make the biggest impact on people,” says Melissa Pinto, a licensed clinical social worker at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford. She says studies have shown a link between being generous and kind to others and our own personal happiness. But those same small acts can also be focused inward. “I always tell my patients,” Pinto says, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.”
Hartford Business Journal,
Nov. 16, 2020
Decades before she became a pulmonologist and critical care physician Dr. Megan Panico was a 17-year-old patient at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, the very hospital where she would be named medical director and critical care specialist only two decades later.
New Haven Biz, Nov. 1, 2020
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
For Sonja LaBarbera, the best part of her job is seeing patients get well again and walk out the door.
In early 2019, LaBarbera became the first woman to serve as president and CEO of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in its history. The 137-bed Wallingford-based nonprofit hospital provides rehabilitation for people who have been injured in traumatic accidents or suffered an acute illness, such as a stroke. LaBarbera oversees a staff of 935 employees at the organization, which had annual revenue of $81.2 million in 2019.
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