Bookmark and Share

News Releases by Subject and Date

Research
2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
Your Health
2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
Medical and Dental Education
2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
Miscellany
2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
All Subjects
2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004

News Release

April 28, 2004

Contact: Jane Shaskan, 860-679-4777
e-mail: shaskan@nso.uchc.edu

UConn Health Center and Equistrides Sign Agreement

FARMINGTON, CONN. – An affiliation agreement was signed last week by the UConn Health Center and Equistrides Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc. in North Granby. Under the agreement, interested medical students from the UConn School of Medicine may work and study with Equistrides’ staff for the benefit of youngsters with disabilities.

“The Health Center needs to look outside itself and work with organizations that are providing care and support for others. Equistrides is enormously special.” said Peter Deckers, M.D., executive director for health affairs and dean of the medical school. “Our curriculum requires community-based education for our medical and dental schools. This will give our students the opportunity to see the wonderful work Equistrides does with people with disabilities of all kinds.”

Equistrides is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing therapeutic horseback riding and related equine activities to those with special physical, emotional and cognitive disorders. Certified therapeutic riding instructors work with each rider to develop a riding plan which may include learning riding skills, exercises, games, and riding obstacle courses and trails. Equistrides was founded in 2000 by Janice B. and Rodney R. Reynolds, and currently has more than 400 volunteers.

“Rod and I have been involved with the UConn Health Center for more than 25 years – as patients, friends and supporters,” said Mrs. Reynolds, president of Equistrides Board of Trustees and co-signer of the agreement. “Equistrides is four years old and we are growing. But our missions are very similar: We are dedicated to improving people’s lives.”

To learn more about Equistrides, visit: www.equistrides.org.

To download photo, go to: www.uchc.edu/ocomm/images/images_news/equistrides02.jpg
Photo caption: Janice Reynolds, president of the board of Equistrides, signs an affiliation agreement between the UConn Health Center and Equistrides, a nonprofit organization that offers therapeutic horseback riding to people with special physical, emotional, and cognitive needs. Looking on are Rodney Reynolds, left, founder and member of the Equistrides board, and Peter Deckers, M.D., executive vice president for health affairs at UConn Health Center, who cosigned the agreement.

UConn Health includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, the UConn Medical Group, University Dentists, and John Dempsey Hospital. Home to Bioscience Connecticut, UConn Health pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. More information about UConn Health is available at www.uchc.edu.

Note: News professionals are invited to visit the UConn Health Today news page (http://today.uchc.edu) for regularly updated news and feature stories, photos and media stories. News releases are archived at http://today.uchc.edu/newsreleases/2014. UConn Health news and information is also available on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.