GAYLORD SPECIALTY HEALTHCARE RECEIVES 2013 CONNECTICUT QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLATINUM AWARD FOR INNOVATION

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, which specializes in the care and treatment of people with medically complex and intensive rehabilitation issues, has been awarded the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA) for its innovation with EKSO, a bionic exoskeleton that allows paralyzed patients to walk again. The Innovation Prize is a Platinum Award, the highest honor an organization can receive.

The CQIA has been the State’s annual quality awards for 26 years, recognizing Connecticut manufacturing and service companies that excel in managing quality improvement for business success and growth. The partnership was founded in 1987, and uses the criteria of the Five Steps to the Baldrige Award in an effort to advance innovative programs that improve quality performance and marketplace competitiveness. Winning organizations along with national and international cutting–edge professionals share their successes and innovative improvements annually at the CQIA’s Annual Conference on Quality and Innovation.

Gaylord is one of only 19 health institutions in the country to adopt this cutting-edge technology. EKSO is a wearable, portable bionic suit that assists individuals that have suffered from neurological conditions, spinal cord injuries, or lower body paralysis to walk and stand upright. It provides functional based rehabilitation, gait training, and upright, weight-bearing exercise under the supervision of medical professionals.

 “At Gaylord, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life,” said George Kyriacou, President and CEO of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare. “Our patients deserve the best treatment there is to offer, and the EKSO technology gives them opportunities they would have never dreamed of. I am very proud of the work that Dr. David Rosenblum and his team has done.”

Gaylord was encouraged to apply for the award after representatives from the CQIA heard the success story of Mike Loura. While training for an Iron Man competition four years ago, Loura was riding his bike when in a matter of seconds his life was changed when he was hit by a car. He became paralyzed from the chest down, and doctors told him he would never be able to walk again. With the help of the EKSO, Mike is slowly learning to perform activities he never thought were possible again, like walking or standing up straight and looking his wife straight in the eye.

The prize was awarded to Gaylord on June 12th at Saint Clements Castle in Portland, CT.

About Gaylord Specialty Healthcare: Gaylord Specialty Healthcare (GSH), headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut is a not-for profit long-term 137 bed acute care hospital that specializes in the care and treatment of people with medically complex and intensive rehabilitation issues. Gaylord also operates outpatient therapy centers in Wallingford and North Haven, and sleep medicine centers in Glastonbury, Guilford, North Haven and Trumbull. For latest news or more information go to their website at www.gaylord.org.