Merry Christmas Friends,
Two days ago, I woke up in the morning full of enthusiasm for the holiday. I was anxious to celebrate Christmas Mass and then spend several days safely celebrating with family and friends. But things changed quickly as my fourth phone call of the morning informed me that, while I am asymptomatic (and continue to be), I tested positive for Covid. The whole season changed in a moment. This is part of living in the world today. This is my first Christmas in leadership at Misericordia, and it is not going to be as planned. It will give me more time for prayer for all of you who make our lives here possible.
Covid gives me another opportunity to look at the limits in life. We all have to live with them. Our children and adults do this with graciousness every day. I cannot complain about anything. My life has been so richly blessed. When I spend time with our residents and feel their joy and hopefulness, even throughout this pandemic, I am in awe of them. They live life with such joy even with the limitations that can be so much a part of their lives.
Click here to view 'Twas the Night before Christmas at Misericordia!
Click here to view Merry Christmas from Misericordia!
Fabulous coverage on the soon to open Misericordia Hearts and Flour Bakery on the CBS Chicago News.
Dear Misericordia Family Members:
Thank you to everyone who signed up to help in our Holiday Bakery. We are so grateful for your support and willingness to give up your time to help us provide bakery to all of our fans near and far.
We are making another plea to you to help in our Holiday Bakery. The Bakery is still in desperate need of volunteers to help in the final days before Christmas. They are in most need of volunteers to help out in the evenings, this upcoming weekend and next Monday.
December 8, 2021
Dear Friends,
As many of you know, we have been quietly celebrating our 100th year here at Misericordia, and we still plan to celebrate this centennial accordingly when it is safe and prudent to do so as it deserves a grand celebration. I have always said that I am in awe of our residents, in awe of our families, in awe of our staff, and I am in awe of the countless volunteers and benefactors who have walked this journey with the Sisters of Mercy since Misericordia opened in 1921. Together we have made a difference, and Misericordia looks forward to the next 100 years of making a difference for our deserving population whom we are privileged to serve.
MFA members,
When you, your family or friends donate to Misericordia it is important to enter your Misericordia Family Association number (MFA#) correctly. The correct format is 4 numbers and a letter, such as: 1111A. It is important that you only enter 5 characters. Please DO NOT add any extra characters (such as # or -).
All MFA #'s started with an A after the 4 digits; but, for some families/individuals there may be a B or C after the 4 digits. This denotes spouses living separately, siblings as guardians etc. Proper entry of your MFA# allows for donation data to be easily imported into Raiser's Edge by Misericordia and credited to your family. If you don't know the letter attached to your MFA# please enter the letter A after the four digits.
Pam & Jim Capraro
MFA Chairs
We wanted to inform you of changes made to the structure of Misericordia’s Day Services, known through the years as “DT”, and the last few years as “CDS”. Day services guidance comes from the Department of Human Services (DHS). Under new guidance, DHS has designated two forms of day services, based on the source of funding for each resident’s services, which have different service requirements from one another and require more independence. Those residents who receive home and community based funding, which are CILAs and home-based individuals, will receive services through Community Day Services (CDS). Residents that live in an ICF will receive services through Developmental Training (DT). The Shannon Apartments have a third funding source outside of this new guidance, but will receive Community Day Services.
On the evening of November 9th, people from all over logged on to watch the 24th annual Artist in All event. Things looked different again this year and we had to hold the event virtually, but one constant remains—the quality and artistic talent of our residents.
This event was sponsored by our very own Siblings group and they did all they could to help support this fundraiser. Even though we could not celebrate this event in person, anyone who tuned in really felt the energy and excitement. The wonderful artwork designed by our amazing residents was created under the guidance of our talented instructors from the ART department, McAuley School, McAuley CDS program, McAuley Recreation Therapy, Personal Effectiveness Program and Recreation and Leisure program. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event successful!
Sincere gratitude to all of our families who supported this wonderful event. We wish you could have seen the smiles and pride on our resident artists' faces during the watch parties the night of Artist in All. This program truly empowers our residents. #MisericordiaStrong
Dear Families,
I realize it has been quite some time since we shared any updates on the Dental Clinic. We opened again for appointments in September 2020, post the Covid closure. We have been and we continue to follow Covid procedures and seeing residents in cohorts. We are generally doing one area at a time and working our way across campus. We realize this will take some time. We started with Shannon and we then moved to Marian Center. We have seen some Village residents. They will then see CILA, McAuley, Mercy Glen, and Quinlan before we start the next round.
We currently have a dentist two days a week and currently Dr. Ashley is on maternity leave (congrats, it's a boy, Joey!). Dr. Jennifer is picking up her day for now. We do hope we can get back to a dentist three days a week. They are still taking emergency dental issues if it can wait until the dentists are here. They are working hard to get all residents at least one cleaning this year. We would love to do two cleanings a year but we are not there at this point. Several families are using outside dentists at this point.
We will continue to provide updates, especially if we are able to expand services. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me.
Mary Pat O'Brien
Assistant Executive Director
October 29, 2021
Dear Misericordia Volunteer:
Over 18 months ago, Misericordia’s Volunteer Office suspended its programs to fully turn our attention to keeping our residents and staff safe against the COVID-19 virus. Our Administration, Directors and staff quickly adapted and changed with the residents as a constant flow of new information shaped the world we are living in today. While we are not back to pre-COVID “normal,” we are beginning to see a glimpse of that life here at Misericordia.
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