{"id":255,"date":"2016-10-21T09:43:31","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T09:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/template.assistinghands.com\/?page_id=255"},"modified":"2026-09-01T16:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T21:48:36","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/148\/illinois\/melrosepark\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"
Assisting Hands Home Care of Melrose Park is a locally owned, non-medical home care agency<\/a> serving families in Melrose Park, Westchester, River Forest, Oak Lawn, and the surrounding western suburbs.<\/strong> We are owned and operated by Thomaie Hilaris, who lives and works in the same communities our caregivers serve. When you call our office, you reach the people who will actually manage your family’s care.<\/p>\n

Locally Owned, and Personal Before It Was Professional<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read Thomaie’s full story and meet the rest of our team<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What Philotimo Means, and Why We Use a Greek Word for It<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n

What Working With Us Looks Like<\/h2>\n

You will not be handed off to a call center or a national scheduling line.<\/p>\n