Locally Owned, and Personal Before It Was Professional
Thomaie Hilaris did not come to home care from the healthcare industry. She came to it from teaching French, running a family business, and working as a school administrator, and then from her own family. She helped care for her grandparents in Illinois and in Greece, growing up alongside their health challenges. That is where she learned what attentive care looks like on an ordinary day, and how much it matters to a family in the hardest stretches. She bought this agency to give other families the version of that experience she would want for her own.
Read Thomaie’s full story and meet the rest of our team
What Philotimo Means, and Why We Use a Greek Word for It
Philotimo has no clean English translation. It describes an honorable, heartfelt devotion to doing what is right and beautiful for another person, not because it is required but because it would be unthinkable not to. In Greek families, it is the standard you are held to without anyone stating it.
It is the word Thomaie grew up with, and it is the standard we hold our caregivers to here. In practice, it breaks down into three things we can actually be measured on: Love, Attention, and Generosity. That word is the reason this page exists. Any agency can promise compassionate care. We are telling you where our version of it came from, so you can judge whether it holds up.
What Working With Us Looks Like
You will not be handed off to a call center or a national scheduling line.
- A consistent caregiver: Someone who learns your routines, not a different face each week.
- Same-day responsiveness: The Assisting Hands team answers calls the same day. Always.
- Owner-led care: Thomaie and our other care coordinators are involved in every case.
- Tailored non-medical support: Personal care, companionship, meal preparation, and light housekeeping.
Where We Serve
We provide care in Melrose Park, Westchester, River Forest, Oak Lawn, Berwyn, Franklin Park, Stone Park, Bellwood, Hillside, Berkeley, and Maywood. (View all service areas)
Part of the Assisting Hands Network
We are independently owned and operated, and we are backed by a national organization.
Assisting Hands Home Care was founded by Dr. Gail Silverstein, who spent more than 25 years coordinating and leading healthcare programs in both the public and private sectors. Searching for at-home help for her own father, she found a gap in available services and built the company to fill it: exceptional customer service and highly personalized non-medical care for seniors, people with disabilities, and anyone who needs support to stay in their own home. That national standard sets our floor. What happens in your home is set locally.
Talk to Us
If you are weighing home care for someone in your family, the first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Call us at (708) 578-5663 to schedule a free in-home consultation, and we will walk through what your family actually needs before anyone discusses hours or cost.
Service Areas
- Home Care Services in Melrose Park, IL
- In-Home Care in Oak Lawn, IL
- Home Care in River Forest, IL
- In-Home Care Services in Westchester, IL
