2024 Joseph A. Lindenmayer Employee of the Year Award: Third Quarter Nominees

Amy Benoit
Department: Traurig House
Years of Service: 16 years

Amy Benoit is the Manager of Traurig House. She has been here since November 2008 and was nominated by a patient.

The patient states: “Amy Benoit is the person who takes patients from the hospital and truly makes them whole again. Amy welcomes patients and families to the Traurig House like it’s her home, and she cares for everyone like they are family. She advocates for all her residents and ensures they are treated with respect and dignity.
My son, Jason, was far from ready to return home after his hospital stay. He has a significant TBI. Not only did she and her staff work tirelessly and lovingly to help him, but she communicated with me every day.

Amy Benoit is an exemplary employee, nurse, and caregiver. She deserves the award of Employee of the Year!”

Amy’s supervisor, Jacob Hunter states, “I am thrilled to support the nomination of Amy Benoit as a quarterly finalist for the Joseph A. Lindenmayer Employee of the Year Award. Amy has been working at Gaylord for many years as a night Nurse Supervisor and has been the house manager for the Traurig house since 2019. Since starting this role, she has embodied an absolute sense of ownership of the house, the residents, and the staff. She does this without hesitation or reservation and in the spirit of Gaylord’s ICARE values. She has truly made the Traurig house a home for many residents and their families.

Amy dives in headfirst to any challenge and takes the initiative to solve problems that arise every day. She is very well known for going the extra mile for her residents. She has met and waited with family members at the emergency rooms after a medical event to show support and commitment to the resident’s health and recovery. She has even slept overnight at Traurig to keep a close eye on any new admissions that need to demonstrate medical stability in case there is a need for medical attention.

Amy also did a home visit for a resident to verify progress after she noticed discrepancies in the resident’s response versus the family’s reports on progress. Her visit helped clear any confusion and helped clarify the treatment plan to ensure we were on track as a team.

These are only a few examples of how Amy gives her whole self to this role for the sake of her resident’s recovery. She does this because she genuinely cares and wants the best outcome and experience possible for every resident.

Traurig is the only residential rehabilitation center in Connecticut, which means the bar is set by Amy and her predecessors. Its mission has inspired several televised news stories and newspaper articles and has caught the heart of philanthropic groups who are moved by the amazing recovery stories from the Traurig house. Over the past three years, Amy and her team have received nearly $600,000 in donations to cover the cost of room and board and therapy for residents who need this specialized care but whose insurance would not cover it. This speaks immense volumes about the trust these donors have in Amy and her staff and is a testament to their hard work that resulted in the miraculous recovery of their residents.
I fully and wholeheartedly support this nomination; thank you for considering Amy for this prestigious award.”

Sasha Brown
Department: Care Management
Years of Service: 7 years

Sasha Brown is a Care Manager and has been with Gaylord since June 2017. The patient’s family member nominated her.

The family member states: “I remain very much appreciative of and impressed by Sasha’s care and concern for my wife, Christine, and for myself during my wife’s 12-week stay at Gaylord, ending on 4/23/23. Following our return home, where Christine needed 24-hour care, Sasha continued to express concern for Christine’s well-being.

After it had been determined that removal of meningioma in Chris’ front lobe would most likely clear up all of her apparent dementia symptoms, she underwent neurosurgery for successful removal of the tumor, followed by a three-week stay in Hooker 1.

During that early stage of rehab for Chris, Sasha paid several visits to her room in Hooker to provide friendship, encouragement and support. Sasha has asked to be kept appraised of Chris’ recovery at Avalon at StoneRidge.

She is remarkably professional and a compassionate Care Manager who juggles the care of many patients while taking ample time to address her many patients’ concerns regarding their health issues and recovery from those ills.

We had some legal documents that had to be signed off by doctors at Gaylord, and Sasha helped me to resolve all of that problem over a 6-week period of back and forth with legal and medical teams. She worked with us to advance our search and ultimate decision for the best location for Chris’ further recovery, which also involved a myriad of phone calls, many documents, and referrals.

Ultimately, we decided that home would be the best place for Chris, and Sasha had set up all of the personnel and firms with whom we will be dealing for some time to include the in-house caregiver who is living here now until Chris is more mobile. You are fortunate to have Sasha as part of your organization.”

Sasha’s supervisor, Chris Babina, states, “Sasha remains very deserving of the frequent ICARE Nominations she receives from patients and their families. I relate to the sentiment expressed by a patient’s spouse regarding Sasha’s love and concern provided to his wife (Gaylord is) fortunate to have Sasha as part of its organization.

Sasha’s actions are beyond words! She practices her role as a Care Manager “from the heart.”

Sasha incorporates the I Care values of Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence into the everyday discharge of her duties. This patient underwent brain surgery for the removal of a tumor and experienced some adverse health issues afterward. Sasha provided support and encouragement to both the patient and her spouse. The patient’s spouse notes, “Sasha Brown is a remarkable professional and compassionate Care Manager who seems to juggle the care of many individual patients while taking ample time to address any of their concerns.”

Sasha went above and beyond to ensure the best discharge disposition for this patient. Initially, this patient was transitioned to a skilled nursing facility and then to home, and Sasha remained actively involved throughout the patient’s continuum of care journey. Both the patient and her spouse are grateful. Time and again, her actions are undeniable as she places others, her patients, before herself. I most fully support Sasha’s ICARE nomination.”

Jonathan Guest
Department: Nursing Services
Years of Service: 3 years

Jonathan Guest is a Registered Nurse on Hooker 2. Jon started in February 2020, left Gaylord and returned in January 2022. A patient nominated him.

The patient states, "He is a night Registered Nurse, and every day, he gave me a toothbrush when I woke up before I had my medications. He is always very caring and has a pleasant demeanor. We need more people like Jon to bring joy to our lives. God Bless him."

Jon's supervisor, Tina Ufferfilge, states: "I wholeheartedly support Jon's ICARE Nomination. Jon was truly meant to be in this profession. He is often recognized for his compassion and gentle approach. He consistently provides high-quality care to his patients. He is a true role model for others and has often been my go-to person when training new staff. He is a resource for his team. No matter how difficult the assignment is, Jon consistently delivers the same dedication and commitment to his patients and their families. He takes the time to learn about his patient's interests and cares about their overall well-being. Jon not only supports his patients, but he is there to support their families as well. He is always willing to listen to their concerns and answer questions. Jon has a way of putting people at ease with his calm and professional demeanor.

Jon is committed to Gaylord's goals. He participated in our most recent CARF survey. He didn't hesitate to come in on his time off to meet with the CARF surveyor to discuss all the fantastic things we do at Gaylord. He is invested in our success and takes pride in his job. He displays a high degree of loyalty and integrity.

I am not surprised a patient nominated Jon. As stated in his nomination, "We need more people like Jon to bring joy to our lives." I know Jon exhibits all ICARE values daily and is 100% worthy of this nomination. Gaylord is fortunate to have him on our team."

Marielle Handley
Department: Outpatient Therapy-NH
Years of Service: 4 years

Marielle Handley is a neuro physical therapist in our North Haven clinic. Marielle started with us in May 2014, left us for a period, and returned in October 2020. She was nominated by a patient.

The patient states, "Marielle worked very hard with me. I came because I have polio, so I wanted to stand up. I did it, and it made me very happy. I knew I couldn't walk far, just the feeling of standing. She had so much patience with me and worked hard every week. She has a great personality. I did great for 10 weeks, and it was a sad day for me to leave Marielle. She gave me stuff to do at home. She puts her patients first. Marielle was the best. She took on the responsibility with me. Answered a lot of my questions. She was very concerned about me."

Marielle's supervisor, Kaila Morin, states, "It is with great pleasure that I am writing in support of Marielle Handley's ICARE nomination. Even though Marielle only recently joined the outpatient family in North Haven, she is no stranger to Gaylord and has held multiple positions within the organization. She started working at Gaylord in 2014 as a rehab aide at North Haven while continuing her schooling. After successfully becoming a licensed PT, she started working in October 2020 as a per diem in the inpatient department. Marielle joined our North Haven outpatient family full-time in July of 2023. In a short time, Marielle has excelled in the outpatient department and has already made a lasting impression on all her patients. Unsurprisingly, she has been nominated for this wonderful award so quickly by a grateful patient. I've received compliments from patients in awe of Marielle's wealth of knowledge and compassion. In addition to her compassion and kindness, she is a well-rounded clinician passionate about education, mentorship, evidence-based research, and improving patient outcomes.

Marielle thrives on continuing to grow her knowledge and skills daily as a neurologic physical therapist. Marielle is committed to ensuring her patients receive the best care possible and became a neurologic clinical specialist (NCS) in 2021. She has invested a lot of time in continuing education opportunities to provide her patients with the most up-to-date research-based treatment approaches.

She has completed several continuing education courses in the areas of concussion/vestibular, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and ALS. Marielle has also represented Gaylord at many community events and has presented in-services to the community and our staff. She is also working on various projects within Gaylord to improve patient and staff education, development, and patient outcomes.

Marielle shows up every day with a smile! She is very knowledgeable and provides excellent patient care to all her patients. She strives to learn and grow more as a clinician and leader. Marielle is a valuable asset to her peers, patients, and Gaylord as an organization. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to her peers and patients in their time of need. Marielle is a highly motivated and passionate clinician who is more than deserving of this award. I fully support Marielle as the next employee of the year!"