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Mental Health Board Looking for Group Home

Posted on: Friday, 9 December 2005, 21:00 CST

By Rupa Shenoy

After years of talks, the Geneva Mental Health Board will begin identifying possible locations for a group home this year, members said while presenting their annual budget to the city council Monday.

"We don't have anything firmly decided," said Victoria Davidson- Bell, board chairman. "We would like to have had our decision be made yesterday."

The group home would house six to eight people, she said, adding, "there is a big need for this type of housing."

The board is looking for a location in Geneva close to shopping and transportation, so that residents can get easily to work, Davidson-Bell said.

The Mental Health Board will meet with City Administrator Phil Page in January to learn the rules and regulations of funding, she said.

Also Monday, Tri-Cities groups fighting mental illnesses welcomed over $130,000 in grants from the Mental Health Board.

"These agencies must go on despite the fact that its been a bad year," said 1st Ward Ald. Chuck Brown, citing the South Asian tsunami, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the earthquake in Pakistan in the last year.

Batavia's Elderday Center, in Batavia and Elgin, which takes care of seniors during the day, was awarded $2,350. People may not always know how to best to take care of older adults, director Mickey Miller said.

"Home is not always a safe place to be," she said. Seniors are the largest depressed population in the United States, Miller said.

The Association for Individual Development, with Aurora and Elgin locations, offers speech therapy, employment services, behavior health services and community living. The board gave it $21,000, and the association's vice president, Kathy Hazelwood, commended Geneva's efforts.

Other grantees included: Tri-City Family Services, $31,850; Suicide Prevention, $3,300; Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, $3,400; Ecker Center, $22,900; Fox Valley Hospice, $7,950; Lazarus House, $9,650; DayOne, $7,000; TriCity Health Partners, $1,750; Renz Addiction, $4,350; Geneva school district, $16,000; and CASA, $500.

In-house awards: Delnor-Community Hospital doctors were recognized by the hospital last week for outstanding work.

The 2005 Distinguished Physician Awards were created by the hospital's Medical Staff Satisfaction Team, which received nominations for 97 physicians in a variety of medical specialties.

The winners:

- Robert Calabria, D.O., a board-certified family practitioner, won Delnor's award for outstanding service to patients. The satisfaction team said Calabria goes beyond expectations by calling patients at home, listening to their opinions and explaining things in detail.

- Wayne Polek, M.D., an anesthesiologist with a subspecialty in pain management, was recognized for outstanding service to fellow colleagues. The team said that, since he joined Delnor in 1992, Polek has been an advocate of continuing education for nurses and physicians.

- Craig Popp, M.D. won the award for outstanding service to Delnor-Community Health System for his role as the head of the Surgical Site Infection Committee. Under his guidance, infection rates dropped by nearly 40 percent, the satisfaction team said.

- The President's Award went to Lawrence J. Bartusek, M.D., for his leadership and hard work as chairman of the Internal Review Board and chairman of the Oncology Committee, providing local access to national clinics and research.

Six physicians were given Humanitarian Awards:

- Dr. Thomas Collinet earned the award for volunteering in underserved countries.

- Dr. Peter Cladis was recognized for volunteering at the Tri- City Health Partnership to help those who can't afford medical care.

- Dr. Susan Acuna was given the award for her attention to patients.

- Dr. Bharthi Rao was recognized for treating an ill woman while on a flight to India.

- Dr. Karen Maloney earned the award by providing medical care and clothing to poor children.

She has also donated the apartment over her office to needy individuals.

- Dr. Stephen Holtsford won for his work with the Illinois Department of Public Health to obtain a grant to secure automatic electronic defibrillators for public areas.

- To contact Geneva reporter Rupa Shenoy, send e-mail to rshenoy@@dailyherald.com or call (630) 587-8625.

Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.

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