by Eileen O. Daday from the Daily Herald:
Tuesdays are special for Owen Laatsch, 22, of Arlington Heights. That's when he shows up to volunteer at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in the kitchen prep area alongside his mentor, Joe Zajac.
Last week, when Laatsch set out on his shift, he gave Zajac a high-five and declared to his mother, "He's the man!"
Laatsch has Down syndrome and is a patient at the hospital's Adult Down Syndrome Center, where increasingly its staff is promoting volunteering as part of its holistic approach to treatment.
"When he gets up on Tuesdays, he's just giddy," says Laatsch's mother, Cathy Laatsch. "He loves coming here and the teamwork involved."
Over the last year, 12 adults with Down syndrome have begun volunteering at the hospital, in the food and nutrition area, pediatric therapy department and gift shop — even the childbirth education department and the Adult Down Syndrome Center itself, greeting and escorting patients.
The center has treated 5,500 patients with Down syndrome over the last 20 years. An expansion last year allowed it to bring more healthy lifestyle programs to its patients, enhancing its holistic approach.
"We meet the medical needs of our patients but we also want to meet their life needs," says Dr. Brian Chicoine, an Arlington Heights resident and center director. "We work with them, their families and social agencies to promote health."
