Regina Davis describes her grandson as a “miracle baby.” Right after he was born, the doctors said he wouldn’t make it through the day, and if he did live, he would be a vegetable. Her grandson, Ahmad Davis, pictured to the right with nurse Jamie Herling, was born weighing less than a pound. But during his year-long stay at the CHC, he has thrived and reached his maturation benchmarks as he got bigger and stronger. “It was a transition for me too. I was a little nervous, having 24-hour care for him. But getting to know them and getting a rapport made me comfortable,” she said. She noted that Ahmad has developed a special rapport with Nurse Karen Krause. “Karen—she’s a sweetheart. She’s his second mom. He knows when she’s around. He can hear her or he can smell her. He knows,” said Mrs. Davis. Testimonials
Providing Care to Children with Complex Medical Needs Not Yet Able to Go Home:
Maryville’s Children’s Healthcare Center is a long-term care facility that provides specialized clinical care for medically fragile children, also known as medically complex, as well as children who have suffered an accident or illness and now require transition care, ages newborn through 21. The Center is a “home away from home” for medically fragile children and their families.
The Center provides care to medically fragile children, or medically complex, who may be technology-dependent (e.g., ventilator care, apnea monitoring) and training for parents, caregivers, and siblings to help them become more confident when attending to the fragile child’s specialized needs. The Center provides transitional care from hospital to home and offers respite care for caregivers, giving them much needed breaks from demanding schedules.
The Healthcare Center Environment:
The Healthcare Center has 12 beds in child-friendly and welcoming rooms. There are separate rooms for physical therapy, learning, eating and play. The Center’s nursing ratio is 3 to 1 for most cases. Dr. Carl Toren, the Center’s Medical Director, and Dr. Tiy Smith, review all protocols and supplements the care provided by the child’s own doctors. Dr. Toren is a board certified Pediatrician affiliated with five Chicago area hospitals.
Before Your Child Comes to the Children’s Healthcare Center:
We welcome any family considering using the Children’s Healthcare Center to come for a tour. Our staff will be glad to show your family our facility and answer any questions they might have. In addition, if appropriate, members of our staff will visit the referring hospital site to meet your child and review his/her needs by talking with hospital staff.
Referring Hospitals:
Since opening, the Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center has welcomed children from:
- Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
- Loyola University Medical Center
- Advocate Lutheran General
- LaRabida Children’s Hospital
- Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
- Shriners Hospital for Children
- Mount Sinai Hospital
- Northshore University HealthSystem – Evanston Hospital
- Rush University Medical Center
- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
- Northwest Community Hospital
- University of Illinois Hospital
The Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center is licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health and monitored by the Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC). The program opened in 2008 to serve the needs of medically fragile children in the Chicago area, as well as provide transitional care, and is one of only two such facilities in the Chicago area. Funding for those who need to use the services of the Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center may be provided by DSCC, Medicaid, private insurers and other private funding sources.
Partner Organizations: 
Thank you to the Kelli Joy O’Laughlin Memorial Fund for donating gifts to our children for the second straight year.
For an interesting, succinct and informative video by Harvard University on the brain development of young children, click here to view “Brain Hero”. Any and all video clips of and posted by Maryville Academy are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and/or other laws, and Maryville Academy owns and retains all rights in the content of those video clips. Maryville Academy does not claim any ownership rights in, and specifically disclaims any responsibility for, any other text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or other materials that are transmitted, submitted, displayed, published, or posted on, through, or in connection with any such video clips on any website or linked service.
Contact Information: Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center 6650 West Irving Park Rd., Chicago, IL 60634 Phone (773) 205-3606 Fax (773) 205-3630.
