Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a nonprofit rehabilitation-focused healthcare system headquartered in Wallingford, is proud to announce that Dr. Jerrold Kaplan was recently honored by the Hartford Business Journal and New Haven Biz with the 2022 Healthcare Hero Award.
Dr. Kaplan, a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor for more than three decades, has dedicated his career to “helping people enjoy life again” by treating conditions that have resulted in a patient’s loss of function. He currently serves as Gaylord’s medical director of outpatient and workers’ compensation services and medical director of Gaylord’s COVID-19 recovery and rehabilitation services.
The Chester resident was recognized for his leadership role in Gaylord’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and his advocacy for injured workers.
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At the onset of the pandemic, Dr. Kaplan knew that COVID restrictions would interrupt vital medical and therapy visits for Gaylord’s outpatients. In only five days, he led a team to swiftly create and launch successful telemedicine and teletherapy programs that ultimately allowed Gaylord’s most fragile and debilitated outpatients to safely - and seamlessly - continue to receive vital care.
Dr. Kaplan was an early identifier of what is now known as long-COVID. Together with his team, Dr. Kaplan developed one of the nation’s first interdisciplinary outpatient COVID recovery and rehabilitation programs which has since treated hundreds of individuals.
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Earlier this year, Dr. Kaplan was invited to join the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation’s collaborative to develop and launch national multidisciplinary guidelines for treating patients with long-COVID. Gaylord’s own outpatient COVID recovery program is one of only 40 in the United States to be recognized by the collaborative.
In 1993, Dr. Kaplan developed Gaylord’s comprehensive program for injured workers and actively contributes to the development and modification of state protocols to treat injured workers as a member of the State of Connecticut’s Workers’ Compensation Medical Advisory Board.
Dr. Kaplan has also been actively involved as a Boy Scout leader in Hamden Troop 610 for over 20 years.
“Jerry has been an invaluable asset to Gaylord’s patients and staff for years,” said President and CEO Sonja LaBarbera.
“Many of our patients who return for a follow-up visit say that he is the very first clinician to help them achieve their goals, recover from illness or injury, and get back to work and the areas of life they most love.”
Dr. Kaplan said he was humbled by the nomination submitted by his colleagues and insisted that the award truly belonged to his “entire Gaylord family.”
“It is a privilege to work with my patients and the Gaylord staff,” he said.
“There is nothing more rewarding than to help patients regain their independence, their function, and ultimately – their quality of life.”
About Gaylord Specialty Healthcare:
Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is a rehabilitation-focused, nonprofit health system headquartered 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 Services and Gaylord Physical Therapy for patients who require diagnosis and treatment on an outpatient basis. Gaylord's Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation is a hub for accelerating world-class rehabilitative research, technology development and innovation to improve the quality of life and function of people around the world. Together, these entities deliver a complete continuum of rehabilitative care driven by clinical experience, innovation and human compassion.
