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Burr Ridge company tackles life’s biggest worries
Shay Jacobsen, president of Lifecare Innovations in Burr Ridge, sits with her therapy dogs Tazer (right) and Minnie at the company which provides services such as advocacy, guidance and care for seniors and the developmentally disabled. | Ryan Pagelow~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 18, 2013 1:18AM
BURR RIDGE — When life gets complicated, Lifecare Innovations is there to offer a solution.
“We solve problems that can’t be solved,” said Martha Kern, marketing director at the Burr Ridge company.
Founded in 1999, Lifecare Innovations and its 100 employees offer an array of services, from in-home care to legal guardianship, to help those in need and their families.
“It’s not just the elderly,” said company founder and President Shay Jacobson.
Lifecare Innovations’ clients include people with physical and mental disabilities, chronic illness and mental illness.
The company moved from Oakbrook Terrace to its home on Madison Street in Burr Ridge 2 1/2 years ago. Jacobson said the new 6,000-square-foot space provides the room and access to highways that the company needs.
“We serve people all over the Chicago area,” Jacobson said.
Its services are as wide and varied as the people the company serves. The professionals can act as a client’s power of attorney or as a handyman. Skilled nurses can provide 24-hour care, or Jacobson and her team can help a family plan for the day when a loved one needs a caregiver.
Jacobson shared the story of a 70-year-old woman who worried for the future of her 33-year-old son, who had severe disabilities.
“She hired us to make a plan for his care,” Jacobson said.
When the woman died a few years later, she did so knowing her son would be cared for.
“That’s our job,” Jacobson said.
Each new client begins with a comprehensive assessment of their needs and how those needs can be met. Jacobson and her team are equipped to help each client make the most of the resources available, and to provide those that can’t be obtained through other means.
With an aging population, Jacobson said a growing number of adults find themselves in the role of caregiver, rather than daughter or son. Her company’s services allow families to be families, rather than caregivers and babysitters.
“It gets to be all business,” Kern said.
Lifecare Innovations professionals can accompany parents to doctor’s visits, help them find medical specialists and make sure they take medications correctly.
This can be an especially valuable service for families who don’t live near one another. An adult child living hours away can know that their mother or father doesn’t have to go to the doctor alone.
Life is unpredictable, so Jacobson’s company is available no matter when a problem occurs.
“There are two professionals on call at all times,” Jacobson said.
A registered nurse, Jacobson said she opened her company because she saw a need for it.
“I’m still in nursing,” said Jacobson, who said her job still is to relieve people of their pain and discomfort.
Through Lifetime Innovations, she just has a new set of tools with which to do so.
