PACE(R) Programs Open Doors to Highlight Their Advanced Care Regimens
In celebration of National Senior Citizens Day, this Friday, August 21(st), the National PACE Association is working with many of the individual Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) around the country to educate their surrounding communities about PACE through health fairs and open houses. Designed to serve individuals over 55 and in need of long term care, PACE programs are integrated care providers that offer beneficiaries all the necessary health, medical, and supportive services they need to remain in their homes and avoid more costly levels of care. In a time when policymakers are looking to reduce health care costs, increase quality outcomes, and improve the delivery of care, PACE is a model that deserves further emulation.
"PACE's model of care has shown that by providing high quality, coordinated care focusing on the health and wellness of each person as an individual, we can achieve dramatic results," said Shawn Bloom, President and CEO of the National PACE Association (NPA). "The health care reform debate is ignoring the vivid examples of excellence that PACE offers in communities all across the country. With 70 programs in operation, I urge seniors, families, and elected officials to visit a PACE program on August 21(st) on National Senior Citizens Day to learn about this unique model of care."
Developed more than 30 years ago, the PACE model of care is paid for by Medicare and Medicaid and provides an innovative alternative to nursing homes. At PACE programs, an integrated team of doctors, nurses, therapists, nutritionists, and others provide medical care and coordinate support services that help keep people in their homes. It is the hands-on, common sense approach and individualized patient attention that makes PACE different from every other long term care option and so successful in helping seniors remain healthy and independent.
PACE's team approach to care and the integration of its delivery system through a care center stands in stark contrast to the way in which most individuals access health care in America today. Each program's PACE Center is a centralized location where beneficiaries meet with their medical team, interact with friends, and eat meals as necessary. Transportation is provided by the program to ensure all participants are fully engaged and taking advantage of everything PACE has to offer.
"Too often Americans of all ages, let alone the seniors PACE serves, are frustrated, scared and confused by the fragmented delivery system of care in the United States," said PACE's Bloom. "For over 30 years, PACE has refined the integration of care so that our members are able to offer consistently high quality, lower cost care through the promotion of health and wellness, supported by timely medical interventions."