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September 30, 2024 / 2024 Connecticut's Healthcare Heroes Awards

2024 Healthcare Hero: Emily Meise

Emily Meise Level III Inpatient Occupational Therapist, Inpatient Rehabilitation Gaylord Specialty Healthcare Return to the honorees homepage
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Winner Category | Innovation

Since 2012, occupational therapist Emily Meise has treated patients recovering from brain injuries and strokes at Gaylord Hospital. Meise serves as liaison between inpatient therapists and researchers with Gaylord’s Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation to enhance the development and use of evidence-based treatments for patients’ optimal recovery and maximum quality of life.

What have been your significant contributions to your organization in the past year?

Occupational therapists assess functional cognition through occupation- and performance-based tests related to daily living activities. To address the limitations of existing cognitive screens in inpatient occupational therapy, I collaborated with Gaylord’s research team and an expert panel to create and develop the Gaylord Occupational Therapy Cognitive (GOT-Cog) screen, a novel tool that’s intended to transform inpatient occupational therapy assessment and treatment around the world.

After 2.5 years of development, a validity and reliability study was published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. Gaylord Hospital occupational therapists successfully use the tool to enhance therapy planning and treatment.

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Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.

I led our entire inpatient occupational therapy department to complete their human subject training course, a time-intensive endeavor that successfully enabled Gaylord Hospital to contribute effectively to GOT-Cog data collection after internal review board approval.

This achievement strengthened our team’s commitment to advancing research and improving patient outcomes.

What’s your next major goal and/or challenge?

Following the publication of the initial manuscript, our GOT-Cog researchers have received dozens of messages from occupational therapy practitioners and investigators across the world seeking additional information. I look forward to continuing to validate GOT-Cog in other healthcare settings and to the publication of additional studies in the near future.

Personal side:

Residence: Milford

Favorite way to relax: Baking

Hobbies: Baking, gardening and reading

Favorite movie: The “Harry Potter” movies

Currently reading: “The Nightingale,” by Kristin Hannah

Favorite cause: Human services

Fun fact: I love to be outside with my three kids listening to nature and my wind chimes, gardening and watching sunsets.

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