Q&A with Val Gray

 

 

Val S. Gray has been appointed chief executive officer of Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw. Gray answered some questions from HV Biz.

 

Talk about your experience to date as the new CEO of Helen Hayes Hospital.

“Having worked in health care in the Hudson Valley region for some time, and through my most recent work with the New York state Department of Health, I was very familiar with Helen Hayes and its reputation for excellence in rehabilitation. So, I was fully expecting great things. But what I”™ve seen so far surpasses even my expectations: this is really a gem of a hospital, with outstanding staff that really cares about their patients and goes the extra mile to ensure they make the fullest possible recovery. Along with the high quality care, the facility itself is outstanding and serves patients well.”

 

What are your goals for the hospital?

“Most importantly, I see myself as a custodian of a 108-year tradition of excellence in rehabilitation medicine. I look forward to working closely with the terrific team that is in place here. We need to ensure that individuals with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, those who have had a stroke or amputation, or people recovering from cardiac or orthopedic surgery know that they can come here and take advantage of our myriad of treatments and technology. Research has shown us, for instance, that individuals who live in the New York metropolitan region and have experienced as stroke are less likely to receive physical rehabilitation than patients in other areas of the country. We are not sure why that is, but we know that rehab can definitely help to restore their mobility, speech, memory and other important abilities. So it is incumbent on us to reach out to physicians, case managers and the patients themselves and educate them on the role rehabilitation plays in the recovery process.”

 

What do you hope to accomplish as CEO?

“One of my primary roles is to ensure that the staff has the resources and tools they need to effectively treat patients. I look forward to building on our research initiatives. We are currently involved in several research protocols with the Department of Health”™s Wadsworth Laboratories. These are projects that have the potential of helping patients with severe disabilities. Over the past two years or so, the hospital has undertaken some valuable facility enhancement projects, including new signage campus-wide and the refurbishment of patient rooms. As budgets allow, I look forward to moving forward with these initiatives.”

 

What do you see in Helen Hayes Hospital”™s future?

“When this facility opened in 1900, it was a pediatric facility serving children with tuberculosis. Over the years, it always evolved to meet the challenges of the times, from helping patients overcome polio to today”™s leading edge treatments for traumatic and disabling disabilities. With the aging of the baby boomers, we know that there will be a great need for physical rehabilitation and we are poised to help meet that need and ensure that patients will be able to return to their communities, their families and their lives.”