Frequently Asked Questions - General

RCFE stands for Residential Care Facility for the Elderly. This is the official designation used by DSS (Department of Social Services) for our type of facility. Other commonly used terms include Board and Care home and Assisted Living Facility. Typically, the term Assisted Living Facility is more broadly encompassing of all types of RCFEs, including large institutional facilities with several hundred residents to smaller facilities. The term Board and Care home is frequently used to describe the subset of facilities, like ours, with a more intimate setting of a private residential home with individualized care and attention.

Our Villa Park residence is licensed to accommodate six Residents and has six fully furnished private bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms have their own bathroom, while the other two pairs of bedrooms share a private bathroom (Jack/Jill). While all six bedrooms can be private, we are open to having bedrooms shared by two people, if preferred (ie a married couple, etc). Please let us know what option fits your individual situation best!

Yes. At Inner Circle Assisted Living #1, all bedrooms are completely furnished with a full size bed or larger, a chest of drawers, side table, and chair. Each bedroom also has large closet spaces and a large flat screen Smart TV with remote control.  The recessed lighting also has remote contol dimmers at the bedside, so our Residents do not need to get out of bed to turn on/off the lights. 

Yes. We will discuss with you which personal items make sense to bring, and which may be better to be left in storage or with loved ones. We encourage items that enhance your health and well being, as well as being compatible with other Residents' experiences. Our staff will review options during your pre-admission visit to see what works best.

Monday - Sunday from 9am to 5pm. These times are chosen to respect our Residents' quiet time and foster a routine sleep schedule. Exceptions may be intermittently necessary to accommodate special situations.      

Yes. If your family member has access to and requires a hospital bed per their physician, ICAL Homes will do our best to accommodate this request.

Yes. Three delicious full meals plus nutritious snacks are included per day. If the Resident has other special requirements or food choices, we will do our very best to accommodate.

Yes. Laundry services are included. All linens, towels, clothes, etc are washed and sanitized regularly by our staff. 

At Inner Circle Assisted Living #1, we have 2 full time dedicated care givers to assist our 6 Resident capacity. In the circumstance that further individual attention is necessary for a Resident, we would consider one on one care with additional staffing in that situation.

Yes. Each caregiver has a current American Red Cross CPR training certificate and comfortable with the necessary procedures in such events, based on the Resident's wishes.

Yes. Our care givers are experienced and trained to manage all medication needs for our Residents. We work closely with the physician's offices to establish active communication and accuracy. We keep daily logs of medications given based on those orders. Medications are all stored and organized safely to ensure appropriate use. We also inform physician's offices if there may be an issue with the Resident's medication routine.

We strive to keep our Residents stimulated and active both mentally and physically. We strongly encourage daily physical activity, along the guidelines of their physicians. 

At Inner Circle Assisted Living #1, there is abundant space inside for individual or group activities, depending on the Resident's abilities, needs and requirements. The outside yard provides additional area for walking and enjoying the fresh air. 

Keeping the mind active is also on the forefront of our mission. We attempt to individualize activities based on the Resident's interests. Access to many types of games, puzzles, music, TV shows, digital/tech based activities, etc. We are also very open to suggestions from families as to how best interact with the Resident in an engaging, challenging, yet fun way.

Currently, the typical patient who benefits most from this service are elective orthopedic, spinal, and plastic surgeries. The most common are total hip/knee replacements, spinal laminectomies or fusions, and cosmetic procedures. However, we are able to accommodate many other types of surgical patients for Post Acute care, depending on their specific needs and challenges with initial recovery.

Every patient is there own person with a unique situation. At ICAL Homes, we always encourage speaking with your surgeon and family members about your surgical recovery plans and potential concerns/issues. A Post Acute care stay at ICAL Homes is a great option for a variety of different situations. 

To the surprise of many people, many patients are being asked to recover from home immediately after their elective (but major) surgical procedures. This can be uncomfortable for patients and their loved ones, as many times the patient (and significant other) may be older and have difficulty providing the care or support the patient needs. Even if there are people able to help, it is not always ideal to have a family member/friend/neighbor take the necessary time off their own duties (home life, work, etc) to care for the patient. Despite everyone's best efforts at preparing you for surgical success, unpredictable events can happen which will significantly affect a patient's outcome. The whole process can be a very daunting and anxiety provoking situation.

At Inner Circle Assisted Living Homes, we aim to provide a highly valuable and practical solution to patients who wish to have the best transition in recovering back to their normal life.  At ICAL Homes, we are here to help your journey back to a healthy and active you.

The typical stay at our facility after an elective procedure is 3-5 days from hospital/surgery center discharge. The amount of time each Resident may need varies based on the type of surgery, patient factors affecting speed of recovery, home living situation, and comfort. Our Physician owners/partners will work with your Surgeon's office to come up with the most appropriate plan for your specific situation.

We are more than happy to accommodate any Surgeon's (or representative ie Nurse Practitioner or Physician's Assistant) visit during your Post Acute stay! We would plan to work closely with your Surgeon's office during all aspects of your care, starting from pre-surgery preparations to your eventual transition from ICAL Homes to your home. If your Surgeon's team is unavailable to physically visit you during your Post Acute stay, we can arrange for video visits or simply update them through our own Physician team.

We provide a safe, clean, and comfortable environment allowing our Post Acute care Residents to solely focus on their initial healing from surgery. Our caregivers are experienced in a variety of different health care specialties in order to provide the ideal healing environment in a safe and controlled manner. They are in regular contact with our Physician partners who guide them and monitor our Residents' care closely. Our Physicians are active members of the practicing community and are very accustom to optimally managing patients in the Post Acute care situation. Some examples of typical Post Acute care would include taking vital signs regularly, prescription medication management, wound care, drain monitoring/care (if applicable) and proper bathing/cleanliness. Issues we commonly monitor for and prevent include common but mild complications (pain control, nausea/vomiting, dehydration, constipation, urinary retention, dizziness, inability to sleep) to less common but more severe complications (pneumonia, urinary tract infection, blood clots, heart irregularities, stroke, falls, wound drainage/infection). 

Finally, at ICAL Homes, we are big believers in proper nutrition after a surgical procedure playing a critical role in initial healing. We pay attention to the Residents' specific dietary restrictions while providing nutritious healthy meals (and snacks!) allowing their body the balanced energy needs for a strong recovery.

Our commitment is to provide ICAL Homes' Residents the comfort, care, and peace of mind they require during the initial recovery period. Surgeries are performed with better accuracy and techniques than years past allowing faster recovery. However, it is still vital to have the appropriate recovery situation to allow for your body to heal optimally. With many surgeries now not requiring (or qualifying for) inpatient hospital stays, it is felt that the initial post surgery recovery time frame is more crucial than ever before in ensuring the right start in a patient's healing process. It is widely known that the most critical post surgery complications occur within the first several days to 2 weeks of the procedure. The care within the first 3-5 days after surgery sets you up for a complication-free recovery and overall long term success.

Our Physician owners and network of Physician partners realize these difficult factors and have daily processes in place to monitor key components in a Residents initial recovery. we regularly check on our Residents and their progress. We help the transition from hospital/surgery center to ICAL and then from ICAL to the Resident's home. With your consent, we are also able to connect with your Surgeon's office and potential other providers (home health, physical therapists, etc) to complete a seamless transition during your time with us.

Yes. We fully encourage any situation you and your family feels will support the Resident with the best care possible. We are strong believers in continuity of care among health care providers as well as preventive care. Our intention would be to engage with your Physician regularly to achieve optimal health and well-being. We hope to achieve a great working relationship with any and all health care providers necessary to a Resident's well being.

No. As a licensed Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), we do not actively perform medical procedures nor provide medical care. We aim to work closely with your medical provider team/network to support their goals for our Residents. If there are situations where this becomes challenging, we are happy to discuss these with the Resident and their families while providing suggestions regarding potential solutions.

Additionally, we are able to apply basic first aid/CPR when necessary. We may also perform regular weight checks, vital sign monitoring, screening questions/tests, mental acuity checks, etc based on the changing needs of our Residents. Any relevant information would be shared with the Resident's Physician and ICAL Homes administrator/owners, all while keeping the family members informed.

While we continuously strive to provide as much care as possible to our Residents, we recognize that there are some conditions which may prohibit us from providing the optimal care required for the Resident. These would include (but not limited to):

• Active communicable tuberculosis
• Gastrostomy care
• Naso-gastric tubes
• Stage 3 and 4 pressure injuries/ulcers
• Tracheostomies
• Staph or other serious infection
• An ongoing behavior caused by a mental disorder that would upset the general resident group
• Dependence on others to perform ALL activities of daily living (ie feeding)

Additional charges for incontinence care/supplies may become necessary, depending on the needs of the Resident.

Yes. Services such as hospice and home health are provided by outside agencies to assist our Residents' additional needs as they become necessary. We are happy to work with these providers and will work with you to ensure the highest quality service.