Real Success Stories

Gina LaMontagne, 34, of Chicago lives with and cares full-time for her 76-year-old father. Robert, a former Chicago Public Schools Department of Education staff member, was showing signs of dementia. He was lapsing into periods of disorientation, resulting in his falling down stairs or wandering the streets at odd hours.  “We didn’t have a regular family doctor, so my dad would get treated by the closest emergency department for the physical problems caused by one of his spells, usually fractures or bumps, but no one treated the root of the problem until we came to Gottlieb's Geriatric Behavioral Health Care Unit," said Gina.
“I had actually attended a support group meeting for caretakers at Gottlieb, and, after yet another one of my dad’s lapses landed him in a neighboring hospital, I asked the attending doctor to take us to Gottlieb.”

Here, she met with the community outreach director, who recognized Gina from the support group meeting.  “It was a very difficult decision for me to make to put my father in the unit, but they explained everything to me very thoroughly.”  Gina’s father was at GBHU for 10 days.  “The GBHU staff re-examined all of his medications and eliminated several, to make sure his prescription was effective,” said Gina.  “It was the first time my dad had been examined by a psychiatrist, and it was really helpful.”

Her father has been back home living a full, active and largely independent life without lapses for the past five months.