Cleveland, Ohio - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Ohio Department of Aging have chosen McGregor PACE to manage the local Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in Cuyahoga county.
This special program which enables low-income seniors to age at home rather than in costlier residential care facilities, will serve participants through two Centers for Senior Independence located at the Margaret Wagner House in Cleveland Heights and the MetroHealth Senior Health & Wellness Center on Cleveland’s West Side.
Medical services are provided by University Hospitals. This clinical partnership allows geriatricians and gerontologic nurse practitioners from the UH Center for Geriatric Medicine to provide primary care to participants of the McGregor PACE program in Cleveland. University Hospitals (UH) will build on the strength of its House Calls Program, launched in 2004, which helps homebound seniors beset with heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, memory loss, and other health-related problems.
Senior Independence, one of the largest providers of home-based senior care in Ohio oversees homecare. A wholly owned subsidiary of Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS), Senior Independence provides services to more than 85,000 seniors in Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Peter DeGolia, MD, CMD, the new McGregor PACE Medical Director, noted that “similar to the UH House Calls Program, PACE programs care for frail and vulnerable older adults who are at high risk for hospitalization and nursing home placement. Ninety-five percent of older adults live in the community. While most seniors want to remain in their homes surrounded by family and friends, many do not have enough supportive services to prevent nursing home placement. The McGregor PACE program will work with eligible seniors and their caregivers who are committed to living at home to remain where they want to be. In partnership with this program, UH medical staff will manage the most frail and vulnerable older adults in our community. We will help them continue to live in the community with supportive services.”
The McGregor PACE began enrolling new participants on January 1, 2011. To qualify for PACE, participants must be eligible for nursing facility admission, yet capable of remaining in their homes with proper care. PACE commits to provide comprehensive care for life as long as the participant agrees to receive required care through PACE.
The PACE model grew out of a pioneering community-based senior healthcare program in San Francisco in the early 1970s. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversee 72 PACE centers in 30 states. Ohio currently has two PACE Programs.
Buses bring enrollees to the PACE centers for medical attention and occupational and recreational therapy. Caregivers visit participants at home to address health and personal needs.
Only seven percent of PACE participants nationally reside in nursing homes because of the individual attention provided by the program’s caregivers, a large taxpayer cost savings.