by Merrily Smith
Like most Misericordia parents, I have a deep appreciation for the staff that serves my son, Tyler. I am grateful for their hard work and dedication, and I try not to take that for granted.
Day after day, they are there making sure our guys are safe and well cared for. It is not something we usually think of, but they spend more time with our kids than we do, and because of that, they sometimes pick up on things that we may not notice during home visits or when we visit them on campus. Once such time really stands out to me…
Thursday, June 26th, 2025 at 5:30 pm at The United Club at Soldier Field
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If you missed the MFA Membership Meeting or would like to watch it again click here.
Click here to read the January Campus Connections.
Stay up-to-date with all of the information, training, and support that Misericordia provides to our wonderful staff! Everyone will benefit from reading Campus Connections!
To view previous Campus Connections click on Misericordia Info in the menu bar at the top of the page, and then click on Campus Connections.
by Judy Wall
Every Christmas, I send a tin of Misericordia brownies to my brother and his family in Atlanta. I address it to one of his kids, my 24-year-old nephew, Price. Price LOVES them, and my card with the brownies always says, "Dear Price, Please distribute these as you see fit." He MIGHT share a few of them with the rest of the family every now and again, but it’s rare. It's become a family tradition/joke.
Price also came to Misericordia a few years ago. He visited his cousin Christy at DT and brought McDonald’s lunch to her room there. During his visit, Price caught the heart of Mis, of the people who care for Christy and her friends, and of the life they have. We look forward to his thank-you notes after Christmas each year. Maybe others will enjoy them, too. Here are a couple of the notes:
Hello Friends. Hope you have had a great start to the new year!
As you may have heard, there was some news yesterday about the freeze to federal financial assistance programs, grants, etc. Please see the below from the Illinois Health Care Association (especially the third paragraph regarding Medicaid). The pause will have no impact on our current funding/programs, and we will continue to work with our associations/friends to monitor any potential future impact to Medicaid with respect to Misericordia and our residents.
Welcome to the 40th Annual Misericordia Candy Days! Our virtual Candy Days is starting today. Like last year we will also be collecting on sidewalks in front of retail locations and restaurants throughout the city and suburbs on April 25-26, and we have a special Loop collection day planned for Wednesday, April 23.
Candy Days is our largest fundraising and awareness raising event that is only made possible because of our dedicated families and friends who believe that all of our residents, regardless of their abilities, deserve the best possible life.
We are asking all of our families to set up a family giving page and volunteer time to publicly display our support for the mission of and raise funds for Misericordia. Last year our families and friends established 431 fundraising pages that reached more than 10,700 donors. We are so grateful to them and to the thousands of volunteers who collected donations in our communities.
During 2025, Misericordia will continue to recognize the hard work and dedication of the Staff with appreciation events. The following departments will be recognized with an appreciation luncheon (meals, staff gifts, and raffle) on Thursday, February 6th.
The Therapist group consists of physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs), a certified occupational therapist assistant (COTA), and a physical therapy assistant (PTA).
Nurse Practitioners are licensed providers who manage the acute medical needs of the residents and ensure annual health exams and screenings are performed for optimal quality care and clinical safety.
The Physicians who guide care and support the medical and psychological needs of the residents. Thank you to Dr. Brenda Sikorski, Dr. Max Pitlosh, and our many independent specialty physicians.
The Dental Clinic provides dental services to residents on campus. Thank you to Dr. Ashley Kauffman and Dr. Daniel Bicknell.
Dietitians are licensed professionals who are trained in the use of food and nutrition to promote health and manage disease. They plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to help people lead healthy lives.
Respiratory Aide maintains the medical equipment of the McAuley residents.
The Medical Clinic Clerk is an integral member of the Infection Prevention team. She helps plan and facilitate staff and resident vaccination clinics, creates educational content to keep our staff informed about illnesses and organizes important medical data.
In October of 2024, Misericordia took a proactive approach to mandate masking in resident care areas or when working directly with residents, effective November 1, 2024, through a tentative date of February 1, 2025.
This decision was based on a spike in COVID-19 we saw among both residents and staff in the months of November and December 2023.
Results of data monitoring of COVID-19 incidence in November and December 2024, as compared to those months in 2023, demonstrate an 86% reduction in COVID-19 infection amongst residents and an 87% reduction in COVID-19 infection amongst staff.
This data demonstrates a positive result in our attempts to reduce the occurrence of COVID-19 among residents and staff. Additionally, the CDC reported recently that seasonal influenza activity continues to increase and is elevated across most of the country. For these reasons, mandatory masking will be EXTENDED until March 1, 2025.
Please continue to reinforce compliance with masking within your areas to support all residents, staff, and families/visitors.
As part of strengthening our mission, Misericordia proudly serves as an active member of Together for Choice (TFC), a national organization that advocates for the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) "to live, work, and thrive in a community or setting of their choice." TFC recently spotlighted Misericordia, which will host the 2025 TFC Conference.
Click here to watch us in a conversation with TFC about our community, the services provided, and our ongoing efforts to provide a continuum of care for children and adults with I/DD.
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