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Misericordia is a Continuum of Care Facility which provides unique benefits to individuals with intellectual & developmental disabilities by facilitating seamless transitions of individuals to appropriate settings and services based on their changing preferences, abilities, needs, age and level of ability. It also maximizes training and employment opportunities; and addresses the growing need for services to individuals as they age and for medically complex individuals with developmental disabilities.
Misericordia believes that all people—disabled or not—should have the opportunity to be meaningful members of their community every day. Each resident at Misericordia works closely with support staff to develop a person -centered plan to reach individual goals. There are many elements integral to leading a happy and fulfilling life, and Misericordia is dedicated to addressing all of these in each resident’s personal plan.
Misericordia has created and refined programs focused on meaningful work, community employment opportunities, adult learning programs, technology, micro-businesses, independent living skills, and maintaining skill levels as individuals decline. Each person, along with their parent/guardian, meets with support staff to choose their program and employment or prevocational opportunity to best match their interests and skill level
As Misericordia supports all levels of individuals with intellectual & developmental disabilities, the person - centered plan is essential in ensuring residents’ needs, wants, choices and desires are encapsulated in the plan. Misericordia has developed numerous opportunities to meet each person’s needs and we continue to challenge ourselves to meet changing needs that we are facing and to promote best practice.
Education
Misericordia collaborates with school districts for placement of school age children. The residents home school district works with the family to ensure appropriate school programs are available and they also provide transportation. Many residents are able to continue with the school they were attending prior to their admission to Misericordia.
Some of the McAuley Resident’s, all of whom have complex medical issues, attend the on-campus school should the district determine it would be in their best interest. Curriculum is geared toward their individual needs and educational objectives. The McAuley School is certified/approved by the Illinois Board of Education.
Nutrition & Fitness
Misericordia is committed to promote health and wellness for our residents. The Moore Aquatic & Fitness Center is pivotal in ensuring our residents have the means to do so. The pool is available 7 days a week. In addition to swim classes and swim team practices, the pool welcomes water basketball, water walking, free swim and much more. Our Outreach program offers swim lessons to the younger children in the program once a month. The fitness center has a lot of equipment for residents to choose from including treadmills, bikes, recumbent bikes, wheelchair accessible equipment, weights, and offers Yoga and Zumba classes as well. They are assessed by the fitness manager in terms of appropriate work outs. We are able to modify workouts to meet the individual’s abilities. Many choose to make fitness a part of their work day and build it right into their own schedules.
Misericordia has dieticians who are responsible for assessing the dietary needs of all of our residents. They work with our residents to develop menus that are nutritious and include the preferences of the individuals. The dieticians are aware of all the special dietary needs of our residents and assure that they receive the proper diet. They also train our staff that are making meals with the residents in many residential areas on campus and in our community homes. One of the dieticians specializes in formulas for our residents who have g-tubes, especially in the McAuley Residence.
Spiritual Life
Residents come from diverse religious backgrounds and Misericordia is dedicated to respecting and supporting each person’s beliefs. Misericordia offers daily mass and Saturday mass. We generally have a Sabbath service on Friday evenings for our Jewish residents. Misericordia encourages all residents to be involved with organizations of faith in the larger community, as well. Our residents who live in our community group homes are members of their local parishes and assist with serving at mass and some are members of some of the parish clubs. Misericordia also offers numerous non-denominational opportunities for quiet reflection.
Social and Recreational Activities
Misericordia’s residents deserve fun and relaxing activities in their free time. There are many activities to choose from and residents sign up and choose activities that meet their interest. Special Olympics is a favorite including track & field, soccer, basketball teams, swimming, power lifting, field hockey, and golf. They are often at the State finals in Bloomington and come home with the “Gold”. Additionally there are yoga classes for all residents, sewing & latch hook, photography, music activities, choir or sing-a-long, social dances, concerts and movie nights. Residents also love hanging out in their homes having “game night” or just relaxing with their friends watching a favorite movie.
Family members and staff frequently join residents at interesting events and on trips to exciting places in Chicago and beyond. Outings includes concerts by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, art exhibits at the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Fire soccer, Bulls basketball and White Sox & Cubs baseball games, every so often a Blackhawks game, local street fairs, going to the zoo or museums, musicals, and lots of restaurants. In addition, Misericordia residents’ have their own performing groups. They are known as the dancing Heartbreakers and the singing-and-signing Heartzingers. Not only do they perform at Misericordia sponsored events they also perform for various high schools, singing the National Anthem at a White Sox game, the Irish Festival, local nursing homes, and many other such venues.
Health and Therapy
Like people without disabilities, each child and adult at Misericordia has unique medical and often therapeutic needs. Misericordia works diligently to ensure that specialized care is provided for each person to promote good health and well-being.
Our medical team includes our Medical Director, Brian Chicoine MD from Advocate Lutheran General, and Maria Brown, MD from Rush who oversees the McAuley residents, two nurse practitioners, directors of nursing and 24 hour nursing on campus. We are the primary care provider for many of our residents but families may also choose to continue with their current physician. There are daily clinics with our own staff or with outside providers such as a neurologist, podiatrist, physiatrist, psychiatrist, and optometrist. We recently opened the Donovan Dental Clinic which is on our campus. There is a full time hygienist and dental assistant. Dentist, who all trained at Illinois Masonic, work 2 to 3 days a week to see our residents.
Therapy needs are assessed by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech & language therapists upon admission and then every five years or as needed. Misericordia has therapy aides and oral motor aides. All goals are individual to the person. Therapist also complete positioning plans, meal time plans, assess oral motor issues, and assist with adaptive equipment should the residents needs change. They coordinate orthotics clinic and wheelchair clinics to ensure our residents have the most appropriate equipment. The Eisenberg Therapy Center was one of the first in the country to include a sensory room. McAuley Residence also has a sensory room which is used daily by the residents. Smaller sensory rooms are available in our day program area and in one of our Quinlan homes. Participation in the sensory program is based on the needs of each individual. McAuley has a hydrotherapy pool and an individual whirlpool. Many residents in other areas enjoy the hot tub which is located in the Moore Aquatics center or do water walking with our aging residents in the pool with a therapist.
The speech therapy department works with residents both individually and in groups. Additionally they are responsible for ensuring meal time plans are in place for all residents and they frequently assess oral motor needs, especially as our residents are aging. They are responsible for updating augmentative communication devices used by several residents who need these devices to communicate there wants and needs.
Behavioral Support Services
Misericordia’s Behavioral Health Services focus on the mental and behavioral well-being for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities living within the Misericordia community. Individuals in need of emotional and behavioral support can access a variety of services that provide individual and group work to enhance social, communication and interpersonal skill development. Services include Behavior Support Team, counseling and art therapy. Misericordia also offers the Personal Effectiveness Program (PEP) which is a developmental training program that provides an alternative setting with increased structure and predictability for individuals needing further development of adaptive behavior skills.