Our Team
A Staff, A Team, A Family
“Home is not a place, but rather, the people who love you.”
– Jodi Picoult
Children’s Habilitation Center is a homelike environment that can’t be imitated by hospitals. It’s not just the place where our residents live, but the place where they feel they belong, where comfort, compassion, and love are a daily part of the habilitation environment. Without a doubt, this is the result of our staff.
CHC has a team of healthcare professionals with years of experience and advanced skills that most other facilities can’t match, especially in critical care areas such as tube feeding and trach maintenance. They are fully committed to our mission and deeply passionate about our residents’ well-being. To know them is to be uplifted by their positive, cheerful attitudes. They are beautiful people!
The CHC staff of 230 works together to give residents the best holistic (body, mind, and spirit) care. They include:
Medical Director
A board-certified pediatric physician (a specialist in the care of infants and children) who is the senior medical advisor and who determines the overall program of treatment the resident will receive. Each resident has a unique care plan.
Psychologist
A board-certified physician who has the professional training to help residents learn to cope more effectively with their life issues and mental health problems.
Nurse Practitioner
A registered nurse (RN) who has additional education and training in a specialty such as pediatrics. The nurse practitioner diagnoses and treats health conditions and helps residents stay healthy.
Physician Assistant
A nationally certified and state-licensed medical professional who practices medicine under the supervision of a physician. The physician assistant is formally educated to examine our residents, diagnose injuries and illnesses, and provide treatment.
Registered Dietitian
A food expert who determines the very special nutritional needs of our residents, including enteral (tube) feeding.
Certified Nursing Assistants
Trained professionals who help residents with healthcare needs under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN). Our CNAs actively monitor and interact with residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most hospitals and facilities don’t provide this level of service and watchfulness.
Respiratory Technicians
Trained healthcare professionals who treat lung and breathing problems. CHC currently has 30 elite respiratory technicians serving 32 children who use a ventilator to breathe. CHC’s Pediatric Ventilator Weaning Program has celebrated many successes, helping free many residents from the burden of being tied to a machine.
Physical Therapists
CHC has a fully staffed department of PTs who treat physical deformities and contractures (muscles or tendons that have remained too tight for too long, thus becoming shorter). Although CHC does not receive Medicaid reimbursement for this service, we have found that physical therapy adds immeasurably to the quality of life of our residents.
Occupational Therapists
Trained healthcare professionals who help residents develop skills for daily living and everyday activities.
Speech Therapists
Trained healthcare professionals who help residents talk and communicate, eat, drink and swallow.
Teachers
CHC is a state-certified non-public school with 100% enrollment, birth to high school, and is staffed by 7 highly qualified, certified teachers. The state of Illinois reimburses for only 30 minutes to 1 hour of education per day, but CHC students go to school for about 4 hours daily for better education and to prepare residents for longer school days outside CHC. CHC absorbs the additional cost.
Join our team
To learn about how to potentially become a member of our team, please visit our careers page.
Testimonials
George
“They actually care.”
Jeanette
“They have not failed me.”
Ms. Brown
“They’re taking good care of him.”