Custom Home Care in Chicago, IL

Pros

• Joyce and Tony were wonderful, very attentive, caring and helpful until the end.
• Siobhan Sullivan was wonderful and kind to uncle and so accommodating.
• Jennifer has been an absolute pleasure to deal with.
• Natalie has been hands-on throughout, always willing to go the extra mile, and always sunny, caring, understanding and extremely helpful.
• Custom Home Care delivers and exceeds all expectations.
• Shawn is a joy to have at Clarendale Six Corners.
• The staff provide compassionate care and continually train and shine.
• CHC is one of the best home care service providers around Chicagoland, excelling at communication, efficiency, and building rapport.
• The manager and aides at the Carrington of Lincolnwood are professional and provide loving care; they are highly recommended.
• CHC has been a great resource for families at Lincolnwood Place, with efficient in-home services.
• Custom Home Care is the best - reliable, kind, and efficient, giving peace of mind.
• The caregivers are competent, kind, and attentive.
• Lynn Bolger is extremely responsive in managing in-home care and is an excellent communicator.
• The caregivers are the real superstars - friendly and helpful.

Cons

• The staff under Katie and Leilani were described as horrible, talking to and treating caregivers like trash, with no respect for those who care for clients.
• One nurse was utterly incompetent at managing the mother's prescriptions.
• The nurse who replaced her also failed to follow hospital discharge instructions.
• Several live-in caregivers came and went; some were cavalier, two did not speak understandable English, and one was preoccupied with reporting other caregivers.
• The pharmacist described a nurse as rude and abrasive, with failures deemed inexcusable.
• The reviewer ultimately moved their mother to another provider for safety, and although the state took corrective actions against CHC, the company remained operating.
• Rebecca is described as the meanest person the reviewer has known.
• There were instances of caregivers sleeping on the job or leaving the mother unattended for excessively long periods.

Review

This community is best suited for families confronting ongoing in-home care needs who want a highly customized, physician-led approach to support an older loved one while remaining in a familiar living setting. The model shines when a senior benefits from structured oversight, medication management, and a flexible schedule that can scale from hourly visits to around-the-clock care. It works particularly well for elders living in Chicago-area independent or assisted environments, where Custom Home Care can coordinate with on-site staff at facilities like Carrington Lincolnwood or Mather Place Wilmette, delivering a seamless blend of home health and community living. Families seeking a reliable, managed care partner that treats caregiving as a protected, ongoing service will find this option compelling. Those who want minimal external oversight or a more traditional, self-contained facility experience may want to explore alternatives.

The core strengths are clear and consistently delivered: a hands-on leadership team, nurse-led supervision, and a robust network of carefully screened CarePros who can adapt to shifting needs. Executive leadership and nurse managers are repeatedly praised for accessibility and going the extra mile, with on-site supervisors stabilizing care during crises or hospital transitions. The ability to customize care plans, the rapid deployment of substitutes when a caregiver is unavailable, and the capacity to cover both short-term crises and long-term routines provide genuine peace of mind. Families repeatedly cite strong communication, dependable scheduling, and a deep sense that the care team becomes part of the elder's daily life - an essential advantage when mobility or health needs fluctuate.

Those advantages offset many practical drawbacks by delivering consistency, responsiveness, and dignity in daily care. A number of reviews highlight long-tenured caregiver relationships, with families mentioning two caregivers covering every day of the week for extended periods and even maintaining continuity across transitions. The combination of direct RN oversight, regular medication checks, and coordinated visits from the CHC team helps reduce the risk of missed doses or miscommunication - a common concern in home-care scenarios. The system's strength in navigating long-term care policies and coordinating with independent living communities translates into fewer administrative surprises for families and a more predictable caregiving rhythm.

Still, not every experience is uniformly positive, and several reviewers flag meaningful caveats. A small but vocal cohort reports serious lapses in care quality, including problematic medication management, caregiver performance gaps, and inconsistent staffing that undermined trust. One extended critique describes past incidents that prompted state-level corrective actions while acknowledging that the agency continues to operate. Such accounts, while not the norm in a 106-review sample, underscore the reality that caregiver quality can vary and that strong internal processes and steady leadership are essential to keep care aligned with high standards. Prospective clients should insist on detailed references, a clear plan for caregiver replacement, and a transparent escalation pathway before committing.

Given those risks, alternatives become attractive for families who prize absolute staffing certainty, a stricter in-facility model, or cost structures that don't hinge on ongoing, high-touch coordination with an outside agency. Those who want a purely in-house, facility-run experience or a model with minimal reliance on external nurses and managers may find a more traditional assisted living or residential care setting a better fit. Likewise, families with extremely tight budgets or a preference for fewer moving parts might consider options that emphasize lower-cost, in-home support with fewer layers of coordination. CHC remains a strong match for many, but the balance of pros and cons will pivot on how much emphasis is placed on continuity, physician-led oversight, and the ability to weather staffing fluctuations without disruption.

In the end, Custom Home Care offers a powerful, highly service-oriented framework for keeping an elderly loved one safe and engaged within a preferred living setting. The compelling positives - responsive leadership, RN-backed care, and a proven ability to tailor schedules around real family needs - outweigh most drawbacks for families who value proactive communication and a partner that treats caregiving as an ongoing partnership. The key to success is proactive planning: request a formal, written care plan with named supervisors, confirm the caregiver bench and replacement protocols, and establish a clear escalation chart for concerns. Verify current licensing and read recent references to ensure alignment with expectations. When these elements are in place, CHC provides not just care, but confidence for families navigating the complexities of aging in place.

This part of Chicago, Illinois, offers a variety of amenities and services within close proximity. There are several pharmacies, cafes, restaurants, parks, hospitals, transportation options, theaters, and physician offices nearby. The area is well-connected with public transportation options such as the CTA stations. There are also multiple parks for outdoor activities and relaxation. Additionally, there are healthcare facilities in the vicinity for medical needs. Overall, this neighborhood provides convenience and accessibility for senior living residents looking for a vibrant community with plenty of resources at their fingertips.

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (0.2 miles)
• Walgreens (0.3 miles)
• Mariano's Pharmacy (0.4 miles)
• Walgreens (0.8 miles)
• Walgreens (0.8 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (0.8 miles)
• Walgreens (1.2 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (0.5 miles)
• Starbucks (1.4 miles)
• Starbucks (1.4 miles)
• Starbucks (1.4 miles)
• Starbucks (2.7 miles)
• Starbucks (2.9 miles)
• Little Beans Cafe (4.1 miles)

Restaurants

• SoFo Tap (0.9 miles)
• Little Bad Wolf (1.3 miles)
• Murphy's Bleachers (1.9 miles)
• Cell Block (2.1 miles)
• Las Mananitas Mexican Restaurant (2.2 miles)
• Hydrate (2.3 miles)
• Roscoe's (2.4 miles)

Parks

• Horner Park (0.9 miles)
• Hamlin Park (2.1 miles)
• Independence Park (2.4 miles)
• Warren Park (2.4 miles)
• Wrightwood Park (2.8 miles)
• Unity Playlot Park (3 miles)
• Logan Boulevard (3.1 miles)

Hospitals

• Swedish Covenant Hospital Cancer Care (1 miles)
• Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center (2.6 miles)
• Saint Francis Hospital (4 miles)

Transportation

• Cta (1.3 miles)
• Cta (2 miles)
• CTA - Belmont (2.4 miles)
• CTA - Fullerton (3.3 miles)
• CTA Jarvis (3.4 miles)
• Cta (3.6 miles)
• Cta (4 miles)

Theaters

• Regal Webster Place (3.3 miles)

Physicians

• Lincoln Park Dental Specialists (4.1 miles)
• North Shore Physicians Group (4.5 miles)