| CONTINUUM OF CARE Long-Term Care Dementia/Alzheimer's Services Respite Hospice Community Services SHORT-TERM REHAB AMENITIES MEET OUR STAFF TESTIMONIALS |
meet our staff
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Trina Springs-Rehder joined LSSI as the administrator of St. Matthew Center for Health in October, 2007. Trina received a bachelor’s in human resources from Troy State University, and later received a master’s in social services and an M.B.A. Trina and her family moved to Illinois from New Mexico, where she served as administrator of a leading provider of post acute health care. Trina grew up in a military family and has traveled extensively in America and Europe. She loves spending time with her family and gardening, reading and making hand crafts.
Kelly joined the St. Matts team in September of 2003. Kelly oversees the recreational services department which provides programming seven days a week. Ms. Fitzgerald is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and has wonderful recommendations about different types of activities for our population. Kelly studied at Grand Valley State University. Booking outside entertainment, planning and organizing bus trips and ensuring that we have all necessary supplies for events are just some of the tasks that Kelly tackles. Kelly is an active member of the American Recreational Therapists Association. As mentioned in her title, Kelly is also the Volunteer Coordinator, which consists of recruiting new volunteers and contacting our current ones about various opportunities.
After working in several other industries, including banking, Gina Watford made a career change and joined the St. Matthew staff in 2003. She is very happy to be here and has had the opportunity to wear many hats as part of our team. As part of both the Admissions and Marketing departments, Gina enjoys getting to know the residents and families. She strives to maintain the excellent customer service St. Matthew is known for, and helps out wherever she is needed. Gina was born in Chicago, but as part of an army family spent her childhood living in New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Germany. She and her husband live in Park Ridge. When she is away from work she especially enjoys cooking and playing with her twin grandchildren, Hailee and Dominic.
Pastor Eileen came to St. Matthew in February of 2000. Pastor Harris leads worship services in the chapel and on skilled nursing units two times per week and for special holidays and feast days. Eileen does an excellent job of ensuring that people of all faiths feel welcome and participate in her non-denominational services. Offering grief counseling, room blessings and a variety of other counseling services are part of Pastor’s role at St. Matthew. Pastor Harris has a good rapport with other clergy in the area and will contact them to come in upon resident or family request. Pastor Harris also coordinates the resident choir and conducts bible study groups.
Dr. Sun sees patients at St. Matthew Center for Health who are receiving therapy services, working with patients and their doctors to achieve optimum outcomes. She grew up in Detroit and studied medicine at Wayne State School of Medicine. Her residency was done at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. In addition to her physical medicine and rehabilitation work at Lutheran General Hospital, Dr. Sun works at an out-patient clinic with people with cerebral palsey. She is married and has two sons.
Dr. Lawlor became the Medical Director at St. Matthew in August of 2004. Dr. Lawlor is part of the Advocate Medical Group, a primary care and multi-specialty group. Dr. Lawlor is a graduate of the Louisiana State University Medical School and specializes in geriatrics. She focuses on quality improvement and process improvement in medical care and has found that being Medical Director enables her to have input into the care of many.
During her teen years, Megan spent summers on her grandparents’ farm, and was fascinated hearing about their interesting and surprising experiences. Megan says that it was in college she realized she wanted a career working with seniors. “I can’t imagine doing anything else!” Her goal is to help the residents at St. Matthew live life as normally as possible, feel comfortable living here, and to know that our staff will help in any way we can. She especially enjoys one-on-one time with residents. “Just like when I helped my grandparents – I love hearing their stories and experiences.” Megan has worked in both admissions and social services at St. Matthew. She is working on her M.S.W. with a Health Care Concentration at Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois – Chicago. She has a B.A. in Human Services with a concentration in gerontology from Kendall College.
Patrick worked in contracting and building services in Indiana and Missouri before coming to St. Matthew Center for Health. He has worked in a variety of residential settings, including senior living communities. Patrick says “I like doing this kind of work because I enjoy the problem-solving aspects, and the variety of issues that come up. I also like the fact that, here, my efforts mean helping people, not just helping someone’s bottom line.” He also enjoys golf, fishing, skiing, and woodworking. Patrick and his wife, Joan, live in Rogers Park with their cat, Reggie.
Karen joined our staff in 2007, and brings 22 years of nursing experience to her position. She has worked in hospitals, in a school with medically fragile children, and with seniors in long term care. She received an associate degree in nursing from William Rainer Harper College and a BS in health care leadership from National-Louis University. As nurse liaison, Karen assesses patients prior to admission to ensure a smooth and safe transfer to St. Matthew. She is a primary link between St. Matthew and a prospective resident’s healthcare situation, working with physicians, nurses and hospital discharge planners. While growing up, Karen observed her mother being the primary caretaker for her grandmother and great-grandmother. “My mother gave me the gift of appreciating our geriatric population and the desire to care for them. I have such tender memories of living with them and later spending my Saturdays at the nursing home visiting them. No wonder I feel at home here at St. Matthew!” Karen and her fiancé, John, enjoy watching sports and cheering on the Chicago teams.
Daisy joined the St. Matthew staff in February, 2004. She loves the residents and is happy spending time around the building greeting people. She has no degrees but receives ongoing education at Alex Brooks Midwest Canine Behavioral & Socialization Center. She is working toward her “Canine Good Citizen” and “Therapy Dog Training” certifications.