by Ann Wilson
Many of us enjoy Misericordia’s beautiful, leafy campus, with its modern brick buildings, impeccable landscaping and a happy, positive vibe. The campus we know today was the vision of Sister Rosemary Connelly. With the help of her brother-in-law, Bob Connolly, then several decades later, her nephew, Hugh, she spearheaded a slow, steady improvement plan that began in the 1970s and continues today.
In March 1976, 39 children moved to Misericordia North from their south side location, and the campus was in general disrepair. Bob Connolly was the first person to work at the site. Prior to his arrival, it had been the vacant location of the former Angel Guardian Orphanage. Bob spent the first two years readying the stage for the campus we know today. He successfully oversaw the rezoning of the entire property to a Planned Unit Development which allowed Misericordia to legally build and operate a multitude of dwellings. Bob created a master plan; he tore down approximately 80% of the old buildings that could not easily be made to meet the new life safety codes and renovated those that could be repurposed. He installed all of the site utilities and infrastructure that Misericordia currently uses to support both the renovated buildings, as well as the newly-built buildings. Additionally, Bob had overseen the physical planning and physical development of Misericordia‘s campus for 30+ years. He was also responsible for the development of each of the off-campus CILAs, often searching for, and finding them, himself.
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You can still donate to the Giving Tree and the Misericordia Ministry at www.mfabenefit.org until July 7th. The Ad Book is available to view on the website also.
Here are the results of the Misericordia Family Association Benefit Raffles. Congratulations to the winners! You will be contacted soon.
You can still donate to the Giving Tree and the Misericordia Ministry until July 7th at www.mfabenefit.org. The Ad Book is available to view on the website also.
During June, Misericordia is recognizing the following departments with Appreciation Events, including a catered luncheon, staff gifts and raffles.
June 9, 2022
Dear Families and Staff,
As promised, we want to keep you informed about changes that are occurring here at Misericordia. As we indicated previously, our organization changes are stemming from the need to continuously work on recruiting, retaining and offering development and growth opportunities for our staff. The staffing shortages continue to be our number one focus. In looking at the current leadership capacity, it is clearly evident that we need to reduce the scope of responsibility for several key positions. It will allow us to keep the residents at the forefront of what we do while we are taking care of the staff that take care of our residents. It will also allow opportunities for implementation of growth and development plans to ensure we continue to have a pipeline of leadership for now and the future.
by Ann Wilson
Every organization faces technology challenges, whether it’s upgrading their network system, increasing security protocols or implementing programs that collect and organize data for various purposes. Several years ago, the administration team conducted an in-depth technology assessment that highlighted some technology challenges, leading the team to create an IT leadership role. Several months and many interviews later, Scott Thompson was hired as the CIO of Misericordia.
Thompson originally heard of a position from his Edgewater neighbor whose daughter is a resident at Misericordia. A graduate of Purdue with a degree in Electrical Engineering, followed by a Masters of Information Technology from Northwestern University, he has worked in several industries including satellites for Hughes Aircraft, web applications for Cision and industrial machines for Continental.
by Thomas Blake
For families whose residents live on the Misericordia campus, CILAs—Community Integrated Living Arrangements—may be a bit of a mystery. What is a CILA? How are they different from campus homes? Who are the residents of CILAs? Let’s explore these questions.
CILAs are licensed by the Department of Human Services, unlike most campus homes that are Department of Public Health-licensed. A CILA is, basically, a group home in a neighborhood that are occupied by individuals with various special needs
May 11, 2022
Dear Misericordia Families,
This seems to be a year of changes. Early in December was the inception of the Misericordia Foundation. This was an exceptional move in that it ensures the Misericordia Foundation will focus on fundraising for the future in order that we continue to provide quality care to those we serve. This also has driven changes in our leadership given Misericordia Home is a separate entity from the Misericordia Foundation. With Denise Tigges recent announcement regarding her retirement and given her longevity, it seems to be a catalyst for some changes to keep Misericordia Home moving forward. As I noted at the MFA meeting, our overall strategic plan includes development of new leaders to ensure continuity in the services we provide. As with any organization we have done our due diligence in succession planning. We have also sought counsel from a professional consulting firm regarding succession planning and change management. They have guided us through the process and continue to do so. The addition of Misericordia Foundation and Denise’s recent news has prompted us to look at the structure of our current leadership to ensure we are effective in the critical areas of Residential Services, Clinical Services and Program Services as well as HR and Staff Development.
May 9, 2022
Dear Families:
We hope you had a great Mother’s Day and are enjoying (and will enjoy!!) this nice stretch of beautiful weather. It is great to see so many of you in the Greenhouse Inn Restaurant and we also appreciate seeing you and other patrons at the new Hearts & Flour Bakery and Café down the street at 6130 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Thank you for all you continue to do to make our 36th Annual Candy Days another great success. Our online totals are approaching $1,850,000 (toward our $2 million goal) after more than 10,721 donations via 460 pages. We are so blessed and hope that donations will continue to come in throughout the month of May. You can still create a page if you would like and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance. There was a short period of time on Friday afternoon when the site was experiencing delays and we apologize for any inconvenience.
During May, Misericordia is recognizing the following departments with Appreciation Events, including catered luncheons, raffles and employee gifts:
McAuley families: please consider writing notes of thanks and/or appreciation to the McAuley Nurses and Secretary; Dr. Pitlosh; the Teacher, Dietician and Respiratory Aide; and the Dental Clinic. We would appreciate you indicating that your notes are for the McAuley Nursing Staff.
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