Two Gaylord Hospital Doctors Recognized by Connecticut Magazine as “Top Docs”

Two Gaylord Hospital doctors, Luci Juvan, M.D. and David S. Rosenblum, M.D., were recently recognized as 2017 “Top Docs” by Connecticut Magazine.

Morris resident and physiatrist Luci Juvan, M.D. joined Gaylord Hospital in 1998 specializing in musculoskeletal issues, spasticity management, muscle and nerve injuries, and neurologic disorders including stroke and brain injury. Juvan’s peers say she is a stalwart patient advocate who leaves no stone unturned in her pursuit to help patients overcome potential obstacles that can impede their further rehabilitation.

“The goals of physiatry,” she explained, “are to maximize health and functional capacity in our patients. I am committed to educating my patients so that they are able to prevent re-injury and to empower them to make necessary lifestyle changes for their health.”

Dr. Juvan graduated from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education of the City University of New York in an accelerated seven-year B.S./M.D. program with Mount Sinai School of Medicine, now known as the ICAHN School of Medicine.

She completed her residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. She is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Juvan is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Connecticut Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the New Haven County Medical Society.

David S. Rosenblum, M.D. is the Medical Director of Outpatient Medical Services at Gaylord Hospital, the Director of Gaylord’s Spinal Cord Injury program and Spinal Cord Injury Research, and the Co-Director of Clinical Care and Site Principal Investigator at Gaylord for the Spinal Cord Injury Model System site to which Gaylord belongs.

The announcement marks the eleventh year that Dr. Rosenblum has been lauded with the honor.

Since 1992, Dr. Rosenblum has treated patients at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare with a spinal cord injury or other types of neurologic injury or disease. As a physiatrist board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, subspecialty board certification in spinal cord injury medicine as well as additional board sub-specialization certification in brain injury medicine, Dr. Rosenblum continuously seeks out new ways to improve the present and future quality of life for his patients.

His innovation and leadership has propelled Gaylord Hospital to the national forefront of spinal cord injury care and rehabilitation. In the 1990s, Dr. Rosenblum was instrumental in creating and directing Gaylord’s Multiple Sclerosis Clinic. At that time he also brought intrathecal baclofen - a technologically advanced treatment for spasticity (a muscle control disorder in which muscles are continuously contracted) - to Gaylord and to Connecticut. Gaylord continues to have an active program in providing state-of-the-art care to people with spasticity.

Dr. Rosenblum also achieved his goal of helping Gaylord become an integral part of a Model Spinal Cord System – the only hospital in the state to achieve this status. With only 14 model systems in the U.S. funded by NIDILRRL (National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation), the application process is rigorous and facilities must meet specific criteria. Dr. Rosenblum currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator of this Model SCI System.

Dr. Rosenblum was also a key player in bringing exoskeletal robotic technology – a recent development in spinal cord injury therapy – to Gaylord. The wearable robot is used to help patients with spinal cord injury or lower extremity paralysis or weakness to stand and walk. Gaylord is one of the few facilities in the world to offer the Ekso bionic exoskeleton, which was named a top-ten invention by CNN and Wired and one of the “Best Inventions” by Time.

Dr. Rosenblum was recently honored by the Hartford Business Journal with the 2016 Healthcare Hero Award. The Woodbridge resident graduated summa cum laude and as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center where he served as chief resident. Dr. Rosenblum is also an associate clinical professor at Yale Medical School.