About Us
History: 40 Years of Excellence!
After World War II, Maurice and Margaret Stern’s famous Prague restaurant served as a landmark communal resource to thousands of Eastern European Refugees. In 1950, they left their Native Czechoslovakia for freedom in America. Two years after arriving in Chicago, the couple recognized the need for a home which would provide care with dignity to an aging community. Both worked hard by day and attended school at night. Margaret studied and soon became a nurse. With the help of many of their new friends, they were able to put a down payment on a fashionable mansion just off Lincoln Park. It was a proud day when the young family moved into the third floor of what was to become Stern’s Convalescent Home, a 20-bed nursing home complete with gardens and children playing in the parlor. On the following day, the phone company came to install their very first telephone, the number was Buckingham 1-9803.
No sooner had the Stern’s opened their doors that their reputation for personal care and European cooking had the telephone ringing. Over the years, they had become renowned for their devotion in protecting and caring for the elderly. In 1957, they received commendations for installing the first sprinkler system in a nursing home – years before the government made them state requirements. Between 1952 and 1974, some of the most prominent names in commerce, politics, and healthcare entrusted the care of family members to Stern’s Convalescent Home. The grand old mansion had served them well, but the time had come to build for the next generation.