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Gaylord Specialty Healthcare Names Quarterly DAISY Award Recipient

WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT, October 15, 2020 — Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a nonprofit rehabilitation-focused healthcare system based in Wallingford, presented its quarterly DAISY Award for Extraordinary Care to Meriden resident, Kevin Boulier, RN.

Boulier was nominated by a patient who wrote that they felt safe and welcomed by the clinician after being admitted to Gaylord feeling “completely terrified and sick”.

“Kevin consistently showed he cared and built trust … celebrated wins with me and sat when I had moments of weakness,” the patient wrote. “He made me smile, laugh and feel supported during the most difficult time in my life.”

Boulier’s supervisor, Nurse Manager Senada Duracak, RN, described him as a consummate professional and a compassionate team player. “Kevin’s patients only have glowing feedback to share,” she said.

A Gaylord nurse for one year, Boulier explained that he first came to Gaylord as a student on clinical rotation and quickly fell in love with the “atmosphere and teamwork”.  

“I'm inspired to work here because I have the opportunity to help patients get medically well so they can participate in the therapies that will lead them to discharge home to their families. To see our patients’ progression from admission to discharge and wanting to contribute to their healing process is what motivates me to be the best nurse I can.”

“I am honored and humbled to be recognized by one of my patients,” he continued. “It’s validation that I'm being true to my belief of treating others like I would want to be treated: with respect for who they are as a person. Being recognized with the DAISY Award tells me I've met my goals of being compassionate and caring.”


About the DAISY Award:
The international award was created by the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died from an autoimmune disease in 1999. Appreciative of the clinical skills, caring, and compassion exhibited by each of the nurses who cared for Patrick, the Barnes family created the international award and foundation to say ‘thank you’ to nurses throughout the world.


About Gaylord Specialty Healthcare:

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is a rehabilitation-focused, nonprofit health system located in Wallingford, Connecticut, that provides inpatient and outpatient care for people at every point in their journey from illness or injury to maximum recovery.

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is anchored by Gaylord Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital, and includes Gaylord Outpatient and Gaylord Physical Therapy for patients who require diagnosis and treatment on an outpatient basis. Together, these entities deliver a complete continuum of rehab care driven by technology, research, clinical experience, and human compassion. For more information visit www.gaylord.org.

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