U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Rankings recognizes Jackson Health System facility for excellence
Lynn Rehabilitation Center named to “Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation” List
Miami, FL – For the first time since opening in 2020, Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial has been named to U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 “Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation” list, as part of the annual Best Hospital rankings edition, released today.
U.S. News & World Report evaluated 1,041 hospitals across the nation for their care of rehabilitation patients recovering from stroke, burns, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. The rehabilitation rating is based on analysis of hospital performance, and each hospital is given a score. Fifty top-scoring hospitals are nationally ranked.
Lynn Rehabilitation Center ranked 45th, highlighting its excellent disciplines in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and recreation therapy to treat patients recovering from stroke, burns, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. Every aspect of Jackson Health System’s state-of-the-art rehabilitation center focuses on comprehensive care, utilizing technology and innovative therapies such as ZeroG Gait Trainers, which provide support as patients practice walking, balancing, climbing stairs, and sit-to-stand maneuvers; a HydroWorx Pool for aquatic therapies; a Bioness Integrated Therapy System; electrical nerve stimulation; robotic therapy; adaptive simulators and equipment; transitional apartments, and more.
“We are extremely proud to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report just three years after the launch of our Lynn Rehabilitation Center,” said Brenda Cain, vice president and chief executive officer of rehabilitation services at Lynn Rehabilitation Center. “Our facility’s focus has always revolved around world-class patient care, excellence, and research, and with the help of our incredible team of therapists at Lynn Rehabilitation Center, University of Miami physicians, and researchers at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, we help patients recover from the most complex injuries.”
Lynn Rehabilitation Center is in the top 5 percent of nationally ranked rehabilitation hospitals.
“When we built Lynn Rehabilitation Center, our vision was for it to become one of the nation’s most elite physical rehabilitation hospitals, where patients who suffered life-changing accidents or illnesses could learn how to regain their strength, mobility, and function,” said Carlos A. Migoya, chief executive officer of Jackson Health System. “In just a few years, our team has earned a national reputation for compassionately delivering the best clinical care in the most advanced setting – and our success is reflected in all of the patients who have been able to return to their daily lives with a renewed sense of hope and independence.”
Angel Armas, 23
On September 13, 2021, Angel Armas, then 21, was driving to work when he collided with a FedEx truck. The force of the impact totaled his car, and left him severely injured with multiple fractures to his upper and lower extremities and a traumatic brain injury. For four months, Armas remained in Jackson Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit while recovering from his injuries. He was discharged from the hospital on December 17, 2021, but required intensive rehabilitation therapy to relearn how to walk, talk, and eat. He also needed neurological therapy to help him regain his long-term and short-term memories back.
When he first arrived to Lynn Rehabilitation Center, Armas could not move his left hand or wrist, and he relied on a power wheelchair to get around. He was also suffering from extreme spasticity, a condition in which the muscles become stiff, and truncal ataxia, which affected the way he controlled his movements. However, after just four months of intense rehabilitation therapy, Armas began to move both hands, walk with the help of a walker, eat solid foods, use the restroom on his own, and most of his memory was restored.
After seven months of therapy, he transitioned from a power wheelchair to a walker, exceeding all of his occupational therapy goals. On January 6, 2022, Armas was discharged from Lynn Rehabilitation Center, and began outpatient therapy. Today, he continues to meet with therapists at Lynn Rehabilitation Center to continue improving his balance and stability. His goal is to transition back into the life he knew before his accident.
“The care at Lynn Rehabilitation Center and at Jackson has been amazing,” Armas said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Brenda Cain and Angel Armas are available for media interviews in English and Spanish. Please reach out to Krysten Brenlla to coordinate interviews.
