Helen Hayes Hospital Acting CMO DR. Glenn M. Seliger named Castle Connolly Top Doctor for 25th year

Helen Hayes Hospital is pleased to announce that Dr. Glenn M. Seliger, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Director of Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Services, has been named a 2024 Top Doctor in Neurology by healthcare ranking organization Castle Connolly on January 17. This marks the 25th consecutive year that Dr. Seliger has received this recognition, placing him among a select group of physicians who consistently exhibit premier expertise and outcomes in their chosen field.

The Top Doctors list includes physicians from across the United States who have undergone an extensive peer nomination process and screening of their medical education, training, hospital appointments, clinical outcomes, and more. Doctors who are ultimately selected by Castle Connolly as Top Doctors represent the best in their specialties and communities.

The History of Dr. Seliger

Having desired to become a medical professional since childhood, Dr. Seliger was accepted into a seven year BA/MD program at Brooklyn College out of high school, receiving his medical degree from Downstate Medical College in 1983. After a series of internships, residencies and fellowships, he became part of the medical staff of Helen Hayes Hospital as an employee of Columbia University and New York State, now running the Brain Injury Unit.

“I always thought medicine was very interesting and it was to help people,” said Dr. Seliger when asked why he first went into the profession. “So it’s twofold. We could help people live longer and healthier. So that was always an interest of mine.”

During his over 30 years on the Medical Staff of Helen Hayes Hospital (he started on July 1, 1988), Dr. Seliger has played a pivotal role in the recoveries of countless patients struggling with traumatic brain injuries, strokes, neurological disorders, and other disabling conditions. According to fellow staff members, his extensive expertise, exceptional clinical outcomes, and unwavering commitment to delivering personalized and compassionate care have long earned him esteem from both patients and fellow healthcare providers.

Dr. Seliger’s daily schedule typically includes a mix of administrative and clinical duties. To start his morning, the doctor visits the approximately 30 patients who are on the Brain Injury Unit at Helen Hayes. He then meets with the therapy team, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to plan what medical tasks they need to do for the day. Following calls from a large number of hospitals with referrals for patients who need brain injury rehabilitation, Dr. Seliger and his team determine which patients are appropriate for their facility.

While Dr. Seliger emphasizes he cannot promise patients or their families a full recovery, he is passionate about helping them adapt to their new lives.

“We’ve had a number of patients over the years who have had truly catastrophic illnesses, who were unconscious for a month or more, and have managed to get back to independently,” Dr. Seliger noted. “Those of course are very satisfying patients. But it’s also about helping families accommodate to the reality of what they have to do in ongoing care. Not everybody’s going to make it to being independent…We try to improve everyone’s lives as much as we can. We can’t always make things perfect, but that’s satisfying in itself.”