Lemont Caregiver Offers Families Peace of Mind

When Lemont resident Marge Fox noticed her mother’s dementia and Alzheimer’s progressing at a rapid rate about two years ago, she became concerned.

“She was throwing things away that shouldn't have been thrown away, waking up in the night and getting dressed because she thought it was morning,” Fox said. “My fear was I wouldn't hear her and she'd fall down the 12 stairs not remembering they were there.”

Initially, Fox tried adult day care for her mother while she was at work.

“But it got hard to get her up in the morning to get her ready and get me to work on time,” she said.

Fox soon started looking at facilities that could care for her mother, but she felt uncomfortablee with things she saw—people in wheelchairs, sitting alone in hallways, for example.

By chance, Fox reconnected with an old childhood friend whose mother told her about in Lemont.

“I visited immediately, and found a home for my mom,” Fox said.

Caregiver Roma Thomas owns and operates the facility at 27 Emily Lane where residents will find a “home-like, loving family environment,” according to the facility’s website.

The center has both private and semi-private rooms for up to six people, and Thomas employs two nurses to help her provide 24-hour care services. Residents also eat three meals a day together in the center’s dining room.

“(It’s) literally a home environment,” Fox said.

Thomas came from Lithuania to the United States more than a decade ago.

She has been in the caregiving business for seven years.

This winter, she plans to open another facility in the area, which will also offer room for up to six people.

Thomas enjoys taking care of others.

“My place is not like a nursing home,” she said. “It’s a big lot so we can walk in the summertime. We have a real good time.”

For Fox, the care her mother receives from Thomas gives her peace of mind.

“They say the best place is with your own family taking care of you but that is not always possible,” she said. “And as far as I'm concerned Roma Home Care is family.”

For more information, visit the Roma Care Assisted Living Services website.