Frazier ranked No. 40 in Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation in U.S. News’ latest edition of the annual Best Hospitals report. This year, U.S. News announced across 49 states and 95 metro areas that have demonstrated superior outcomes.

“We could not be more honored to receive this recognition,” said Dan Hudson, CEO, UofL Health – Frazier Rehabilitation Institute. “Being named a U.S. News Top Rehab Hospital and the No. 1 rehab hospital in Kentucky reflects the exceptional patient care our team provides. They truly care about what they do and about the patients they serve – you don’t find that everywhere.”

U.S. News evaluated more than 4,400 hospitals across 15 adult specialties and 22 procedures and conditions; only 13% of evaluated hospitals earned a Best Hospitals designation.

“Helping patients regain their lives with hope and dignity is the focus for our providers and employees, and we get some pretty amazing results,” said Darryl Kaelin, MD, medical director at Frazier Rehab Institute. “Being a part of UofL Health, Frazier Rehab is part of a larger academic environment encouraging a greater focus on more aggressive research and cutting edge-treatment.

To determine the , U.S. News analyzed each hospital’s performance based on objective measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and level of nursing care. The Best Hospitals and measure patient outcomes using data from over 800 million records of patient care.

“For more than three decades, U.S. News has been an invaluable guide for patients,” said Managing Editor and Chief of Health Analysis Ben Harder at U.S. News. “With a ‘Best Hospital’ recognition, Americans, in consultation with their medical providers, can confidently choose a regional hospital known for providing superior care for their specific illness or condition.”

Recently, UofL’s School of Medicine, the academic partner of UofL Health, also ranked among the best in the nation through the U.S. News & World Report 2025 edition of Best Graduate Schools.

For more information about patient services, visit .

During the summer between high school and college, Strader underwent the first of three surgeries to treat her condition. As a college sophomore, struggling to sustain her college education and social life while navigating her health issues, she looked for ways to connect and share support with other students with similar experiences.

“There was no national organization to support people with all types of disabilities – only specific types of illnesses,” Strader said. Because it is extremely rare, no support group exists specifically for her illness.

So Strader, now a second-year medical resident at UofL, created a blog to share her experience and to connect with other college students with long-term health problems. She went on to establish , a non-profit organization to provide scholarships and emotional support to students facing chronic illness or disability. Strader assembled a board of directors that included college classmates and other advisers, established the 501(c)3 corporation with support from family, friends and her school – the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and began accepting donations.

Bella Soul awarded the first three scholarships in 2013.

“Since then, we have awarded 50 scholarships to young adult students to help with medical bills or other expenses related to their illness or disability,” Strader said. Strader said Bella Soul receives 50-to-100 scholarship applicants for every scholarship available and has given between 2 and 10 scholarships each year, depending on funds raised that year.

Reviewing all the applicants is time consuming, Strader said, but she is glad to be able to connect with each of the students, who apply by sharing their stories and proof they are students.

“It is exhausting, but all very amazing,” she said.

As an undergraduate, Strader studied neurobiology and stem cell sciences and worked in the regenerative biology lab of James Thomson at the Morgridge Institute for Research at UW – Madison. Her interest in stem cells is motivated by her own illness as well as that of her twin sister, Lauryn, who had cerebral palsy and died when they were 8 years old.

After graduating from UW – Madison, Strader obtained a master’s in biomedical sciences and received her medical degree from Lincoln Memorial University – DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Knoxville, Tennessee. She chose UofL for her residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation because of the extensive inpatient opportunities available to the residents at UofL Health – Frazier Rehab Institute. She hopes to pursue clinical care as well as conduct biomedical research into neurological disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

“I came to UofL because the program was one of only a couple of places that offer good inpatient experience caring for individuals with complex disabilities,” she said. “My main goal is to figure out better treatment options for these individuals. Their treatment options have not changed in 20 years.”

Kaelin is the University of Louisville Endowed Chair for Stroke and Brain Injury Rehabilitation and specializes in neuro-rehabilitation with a focus on traumatic brain injury and stroke. He speaks nationally and internationally on concussion, spasticity management and neuropharmacology.

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead such a wonderful organization as the AAPM&R,” Kaelin said. “In the changing health care landscape, it is important to promote a focus on function and quality of life. The academy advocates for patients with disabling conditions and for physiatrists to serve as essential members of the health-care team, involved early and throughout the continuum of care.”

Kaelin is an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and the UofL School of Medicine. He received graduate medical education at Kettering Medical Center Network and Medical College of Virginia, where he was chief resident. Kaelin is a board member of the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky and a member of the Association of Academic Physiatry. Prior to assuming his current positions at UofL, Kaelin served as medical director of the Acquired Brain Injury Program at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital for people with spinal cord and brain injuries. While at the Shepherd Center, he also served as the medical director of Brain Injury Research in Emory University’s School of Medicine.

The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is the national medical specialty organization representing more than 10,000 physicians who are specialists in physical medicine and rehabilitation. PM&R physicians, also known as physiatrists, treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons.