RIC's Resources for People Living with a Disability
At the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), we work to provide resources and information that help people with disabilities work toward attaining their own personal goals. We have a several resources available to accommodate various aspects of life for people with disabilities and their families.
RIC LIFE Center
lifecenter.ric.org
Be informed. Get connected. The Life Center strives to help you live life fully!
RIC's LIFE Center is a unique resource center and web site designed to help people with disabilities and their families become informed, get connected and be inspired. Part library and part virtual network, the LIFE Center, located off the lobby at RIC's main campus, offers a large collection of books, videos, magazines and multimedia learning resources geared toward people with disabilities and their families. Community resources, such as support groups, classes and disability-specific organizations and programs are included in our center to connect you to information that spans key topics of life.
- Medical Information & Care
- Care giving & Equipment
- Housing & Transportation
- Education & Employment
- Support & Wellness
- Recreation & Leisure
- Finance & Law
- Inspiration & Hope
Clinical Ethics Consultants
The Donnelley Ethics Program is a resources for you, as a patient, family member, or staff member, regarding questions of ethics.
RIC's Donnelley Ethics program (DEP) is a resource for patients, families and staff members. Clinical ethics consultants are available to provide formal and informal ethics consultation on a case-by case basis. The program provides educational in-services, ethics grand rounds and lectures. It houses a unique collection of disability and ethics resources. The program also addresses patients' rights issues for accreditation and quality improvement purposes and coordinates the Hospital Ethics Committee.
RIC offers a range of vocational rehabilitation services to employers and people with physical disabilities. Services include Employment Services Coordination, Employment Planning Services, Comprehensive Vocational Evaluation and Community Employment Services. The RIC Business TEAM consists of more than 100 of the most influential Chicago-area businesses, people with disabilities, (dis)ability organizations and vocational staff of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
For adults with disabilities, physical fitness is essential to maintaining strength, maximizing function and enjoying the exhilaration and well being that physical activity can bring. The Helen M. Galvin Health & Fitness Center, located near RIC's main campus, offers personalized exercise programs and competitive sports for a nominal fee. The 4,000 square foot center offers state-of-the-art, fully accessible equipment designed to accommodate people of all ages and levels of ability. Free weights, treadmills, stationary cycles, hand cycles and more are available to center members.
Through the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Sports Program, RIC offers individual and team sports and other organized activities for people of all ages with disabilities, including training programs for Paralympic-level competition. A variety of different competitive and recreational sports are available for of all ages and abilities, including:
Educational services and support groups at RIC include the following:
The Women with Disabilities Center (WWDC) works to empower women and girls with disabilities to practice self-determination, as well as enhance the availability, accessibility and quality of medical care and psycho-social support for all women with disabilities.
The Women with Disabilities Center (WWDC) has expanded and moved to a new home.
Effective April 1, 2010, the Center transitioned its operations from RIC to Access Living, a national model and leader for independent community advocacy and resource center. The programs established at RIC such as the girl’s mentorship program, peer support groups and women’s health access initiatives will continue on at Access Living.
Judy Panko-Reis has also transitioned to Access Living. For more information, please contact Access Living at (312) 640-2100.
