Local nurse builds 600-employee private home health care firm
When Molly Miceli started her company 26 years ago, she was on the cutting edge of an industry that was set to explode. Over the years, while growing Schaumburg-based LifeStyle Options Inc., she has used technology to stay ahead of the curve.
Years ago Miceli, a registered nurse, realized that health care often didn't extend to an individual's home. In 1989, she started LifeStyle Options to provide high quality, reliable home care services that encourage adults to be independent as long as possible and to live at home with dignity, comfort and security. When she started the business, there were only three companies of its kind in the state. Today there are about 15,000, she said.
LifeStyle Options provides hourly and live-in private duty care, as well as professional geriatric care management, facility staffing and senior housing services. The company services Chicago and its suburbs and the surrounding area, extending to Rockford.
The business started at Miceli's kitchen table and now, with about 600 employees, is one of the biggest firms in the private pay home health care market. "The mission has never changed," the Elgin resident said.
The bottom line is all about helping people stay independent in their homes for as long as possible, she said.
In an effort to make this happen, her company recently signed an agreement with eCaring to provide its cloud-based care to Lifestyle's clients.
She said a caregiver or family member can log on and monitor how an elderly person is doing. A case manager from eCaring can then step in to assist without a trip to the emergency room.
"It's the real-time nature and the alerts that we care about," Miceli said.
Just the other day, an alert about a behavior changed helped a patient. "The alert prompted our case manager to request our nursing supervisor to obtain a physician's order for a urine analysis," she said. "It turned out that the client was suffering from a urinary tract infection which, in older adults, often manifests as confusion," she said.
If left undetected and untreated, the infection could have resulted in either an emergency room visit or a hospitalization.
The alerts enable timely interventions to keep small problems from becoming big ones, Miceli said.
"These new eCaring features enhance communication between our staff and family members, ensuring that we provide a better service than ever to keep our clients living comfortably at home longer by avoiding serious problems that could lead to hospitalizations," added Lara deBruin, president and COO of LifeStyle Options.
Shodeen Homes begins sales
Shodeen Homes recently opened sales at Seventh Street Terrace Townhomes, a community of six upscale residences located at the northeast corner of Seventh and James streets in the heart of downtown Geneva.
Prices range from $414,900 to $459,900 and include a finished lower level.
Seventh Street Terrace Townhomes marks the fifth downtown Geneva residential property from the Shodeen companies and the next in a series of numerous projects throughout Geneva and the Fox River Valley. It will join the nearby First Street Duplexes, Dodson Square Townhomes, Dodson Place Residential Apartments and River North Condominiums. Shodeen Homes is a privately owned; Geneva-based home building company founded in 1961 by Kent Shodeen.
Grant approved
The Illinois Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Illinois State Bar Association, has approved a grant of $5,000 to Administer Justice, a nonprofit legal aid organization based in Elgin.
The grant is one of 23 grants totaling $185,000, which the foundation will distribute this year to nonprofit legal aid organizations statewide, including Cook County and northern, central and southern Illinois.
Administer Justice operates as a full-time professional law office to provide services through a comprehensive program of educational outreach, legal assistance, financial counseling, and conflict resolution services. The grant will support the salary of an attorney who is bilingual in English and Spanish to provide civil legal assistance to the low-income, Spanish-speaking families of Northern Illinois.
PhilHaven under construction
Construction recently started for PhilHaven, a 50-unit affordable and supportive housing development located at 2418 E. Hintz Road in Wheeling.
Under development by a partnership formed by Daveri Development Group LLC and Kenneth Young Center, the three-story building will offer a permanent living option for individuals who can live independently yet benefit from supportive services. McShane Construction Company is providing the construction services representing their third assignment on behalf of Daveri Development Group while VOA Associates Incorporated is serving as architect for the project.
McShane Construction is slated to complete PhilHaven in Summer 2016.
Zoup to open in Vernon Hills
When Allan Woodrow isn't penning new ideas for his children's books and his wife, Lauren isn't working as a graphic designer, the Vernon Hills couple is preparing for the opening of their first Zoup! franchise location.
The pair have signed a lease to open a Zoup! restaurant in the Hawthorn Hills Square Shopping Center at 700 N. Milwaukee Avenue this August.
Allan is an internationally published children's author, his seventh book is scheduled to hit the shelves this fall, while Lauren works as a graphic designer, with much of her background in educational publishing. The couple has two children. Zoup! is a fast-casual soup concept restaurant that features 12 always-rotating soup varieties each day, along with made-to-order salads and sandwiches.
Sold
Adelphia Properties announces the sale of a KinderCare Learning Center property. The 6,173 square-foot free-standing building located in Palatine had 4.5 years remaining on the lease term with two five-year options. It generated multiple offers and sold at 99 percent of list price that closed in 14 days. The property was sold to a private investor for $1.6 million. Adelphia Properties' Simeon Spirrison, represented the seller, a private Investor.