A Beacon of Excellence in Healthcare
Cornerstone Special Care (fka Exceptional Care & Training Center), recipient of the IHCA’s Excellence Award for Long Term Care Center, continues to set the standard for professionalism and quality in the healthcare industry.
The IHCA’s Excellence Awards Program recognizes the outstanding work being done in long-term care centers across Illinois. This prestigious award evaluates centers based on a variety of criteria, including the implementation of processes and procedures aimed at continuous quality improvement and resident-centered care. Cornerstone Special Care's commitment to excellence in these areas has been duly recognized.
One of the key initiatives that earned Cornerstone Special Care this award is our Sensory Spaces/Multi-Sensory Approach to enhancing resident care and quality of life. This innovative approach is grounded in focusing on the abilities and strengths of our clients, providing them the opportunity to explore, learn about, and interact with their environment, all while being treated with the utmost respect.
The goals of our Sensory Spaces initiative are multifaceted. We aim for our clients to engage in activities that interest them, express themselves freely, and replace maladaptive behaviors with appropriate communication and positive interactions. The versatility of Sensory Spaces allows us to achieve a wide range of individual goals, such as increasing concentration and focus, providing mental and physical relaxation, decreasing aggressive behaviors, developing sensory perception, teaching cause-and-effect, offering a sense of security and calmness, encouraging vocalization and communication, promoting social interactions, enhancing environmental awareness, improving coordination and gross motor skills, enabling free exploration, and fostering cognitive development.
“We have a wonderful facility filled with loving and caring staff. We care about our residents as if they were our own kin. Our resident successes belong to all of us, and we celebrate along with them. Our name and reputation are built upon 45 years of dedicated and diligent service. It is a privilege to serve, and we are so proud to be affiliated with this facility, in this community,” expressed by a long-term employee.
In addition to being named Long Term Care Center of the Year, Cornerstone Special Care is proud to have two of our exemplary staff members recognized with IHCA Staff & Specialty Excellence Awards:
• Sheila Hamilton, our Food Services Director, received the Food Service Professional of the Year award.
• Clarence Baker, our Maintenance Director, received the Environmental Services Professional of the Year award.
At Cornerstone Special Care, we are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and care. Our recognition by the IHCA underscores our commitment to excellence and our continuous efforts to enhance the quality of life for our residents. We are honored to serve our community and proud of the compassionate, skilled team that makes Cornerstone Special Care a leader in the field.
