Giffords released from hospital; will continue outpatient therapy

(CNN) - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been released from the hospital in Houston, Texas, and expects to begin outpatient treatment soon, according to a statement released Wednesday by TIRR Memorial Hermann.

Giffords was shot in the head January 8 during a mass shooting incident in Arizona. She is expected to move into her home in League City, Texas, where she will continue rehabilitation therapy.

"We are very excited that she has reached the next phase of her rehabilitation and can begin outpatient treatment," said Dr. Gerard Francisco, the hospital's chief medical officer. Francisco will continue to supervise Giffords' case.

Giffords will still get intensive therapy as an outpatient and will work with the same rehab team that has been with her from the beginning, the statement said. She has been at TIRR Memorial Hermann since late January.

"Gabby gives her all to everything she does, and that's exactly what she's been doing at TIRR since January 26," said Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband. "The remarkable progress she has made since then is a testament to both her single-minded determination to get better and the team of medical professionals overseeing her care."

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is charged in the mass shooting in which six people were killed and 13 others, including Giffords, were wounded in front of a Safeway grocery story in Tucson, Arizona. A federal judge ruled last month that Loughner is not competent to stand trial. His next court date is scheduled for September 21.