Press Releases

ALEXANDRIA, VA – As part of its PACE 2.0 project, the National PACE Association (NPA) today launched the first in a series of “Before I Found PACE” video testimonials to highlight the success of Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE®), which empower individuals to live safely in the community.

“PACE transforms not just the lives of the participants who enroll in the program, but also their families and caregivers,” said Peter Fitzgerald, executive vice president of Public Policy and Strategy at NPA and principal investigator of PACE 2.0. “As the first testimonial underscores, PACE growth is needed to bring this transformative model of care to many more people and their families.”

PACE is a Medicare and Medicaid program that helps people meet their health care needs in the home, community and PACE centers instead of going to a nursing home or other care facility. The video testimonials allow the public to understand how the program positively affects individual lives and provides a personal perspective that goes beyond descriptions of how the model works or outcomes data alone.

“With the rapidly growing aging population in this country, PACE can serve a wide variety of people in many different situations,” Fitzgerald said. “These stories are a reminder of the number of unserved people who would benefit from PACE and reinforce our shared mission of growth to meet their needs as quickly as possible.”

Reflecting this mission, PACE 2.0 aims to increase the number of people served by PACE from approximately 45,000 today to as many as 200,000 by 2028.

The first testimonial is by Ronald Hanz of rural Tahlequah, OK, who is a participant at Cherokee Elder Care, the only PACE organization sponsored by a Native American tribe. He battled addiction and homelessness before enrolling in PACE. His story is the first of eight in a series of “Before I Found PACE” video testimonials that will be released this year.

PACE 2.0 is a project of NPA supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and West Health to develop and promote innovations to the PACE model that allows it to serve more people, expand to new communities, and assist new populations.

The PACE model of care uses an interdisciplinary team approach to provide care to individuals, age 55 and over, who qualify for nursing home care. PACE is a Medicare benefit nationally and a Medicaid benefit in 31 states. It is the most successful model for keeping individuals out of nursing homes and in the community, where they enjoy a higher quality of life, remain connected to the community, and receive care in the most cost-effective way. PACE reduces the costs associated with emergency room visits, unnecessary hospital admissions and long-term nursing home placements. More than 95 percent of PACE enrollees live in the community.¹

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The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. Established in 1929, the foundation has three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregiving, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. For more information, visit johnahartford.org and follow @johnahartford.

West Health, solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, includes the nonprofit and nonpartisan Gary and Mary West Health Institute  and Gary and Mary West Foundation  in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center  in Washington, DC. These organizations work together toward a shared mission of enabling seniors to age in place successfully with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life, and independence. For more information, visit westhealth.org and follow @WestHealth.

The National PACE Association works to advance the efforts of PACE programs, which coordinate and provide preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so older individuals can continue living in the community. The PACE model of care is centered on the belief that it is better for the well-being of seniors with chronic care needs and their families to be served in the community whenever possible. For more information, visit www.NPAonline.org and follow @TweetNPA.

ALEXANDRIA, VA – As part of its PACE 2.0 project, the National PACE Association (NPA) today launched the first in a series of “Before I Found PACE” video testimonials to highlight the success of Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE®), which empower individuals to live safely in the community.

“PACE transforms not just the lives of the participants who enroll in the program, but also their families and caregivers,” said Peter Fitzgerald, executive vice president of Public Policy and Strategy at NPA and principal investigator of PACE 2.0. “As the first testimonial underscores, PACE growth is needed to bring this transformative model of care to many more people and their families.”

PACE is a Medicare and Medicaid program that helps people meet their health care needs in the home, community and PACE centers instead of going to a nursing home or other care facility. The video testimonials allow the public to understand how the program positively affects individual lives and provides a personal perspective that goes beyond descriptions of how the model works or outcomes data alone.

“With the rapidly growing aging population in this country, PACE can serve a wide variety of people in many different situations,” Fitzgerald said. “These stories are a reminder of the number of unserved people who would benefit from PACE and reinforce our shared mission of growth to meet their needs as quickly as possible.”

Reflecting this mission, PACE 2.0 aims to increase the number of people served by PACE from approximately 45,000 today to as many as 200,000 by 2028.

The first testimonial is by Ronald Hanz of rural Tahlequah, OK, who is a participant at Cherokee Elder Care, the only PACE organization sponsored by a Native American tribe. He battled addiction and homelessness before enrolling in PACE. His story is the first of eight in a series of “Before I Found PACE” video testimonials that will be released this year.

PACE 2.0 is a project of NPA supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and West Health to develop and promote innovations to the PACE model that allows it to serve more people, expand to new communities, and assist new populations.

The PACE model of care uses an interdisciplinary team approach to provide care to individuals, age 55 and over, who qualify for nursing home care. PACE is a Medicare benefit nationally and a Medicaid benefit in 31 states. It is the most successful model for keeping individuals out of nursing homes and in the community, where they enjoy a higher quality of life, remain connected to the community, and receive care in the most cost-effective way. PACE reduces the costs associated with emergency room visits, unnecessary hospital admissions and long-term nursing home placements. More than 95 percent of PACE enrollees live in the community.¹

#

The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. Established in 1929, the foundation has three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregiving, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. For more information, visit johnahartford.org and follow @johnahartford.

West Health, solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, includes the nonprofit and nonpartisan Gary and Mary West Health Institute  and Gary and Mary West Foundation  in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center  in Washington, DC. These organizations work together toward a shared mission of enabling seniors to age in place successfully with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life, and independence. For more information, visit westhealth.org and follow @WestHealth.

The National PACE Association works to advance the efforts of PACE programs, which coordinate and provide preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so older individuals can continue living in the community. The PACE model of care is centered on the belief that it is better for the well-being of seniors with chronic care needs and their families to be served in the community whenever possible. For more information, visit www.NPAonline.org and follow @TweetNPA.