September is National PACE Month: Celebrating PACE's Long-Held Promise to Help Elders Live at Home

"Living at Home, Your Goal, Our Priority," Celebrates the Promise at the Core Of the PACE Model of Care

2021 Marks the 50th anniversary of On Lok in San Francisco, and the creation of the long-term care delivery model that led to Programs for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

News provided by

National PACE Association

Sep 01, 2021, 19:14 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- September is National PACE Month -- celebrating the Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly, an innovative model of care that allows elders with long-term care needs to remain living in the community for as long as possible as independently as possible. Over 95 percent of PACE enrollees live outside of a nursing home.

"We celebrate National PACE Month in 2021 as we are emerging from the historic COVID-19 pandemic which provides us a unique perspective to celebrate the original development of the PACE model of care and envision a future where every American will have access to PACE," said National PACE Association President and CEO Shawn Bloom.

2021 marks the 50^th Anniversary of On Lok, the nonprofit organization in San Francisco that developed the PACE model of care and continues to offer On Lok PACE in San Francisco county, Santa Clara county, and the Tri-City area of Alameda county.

On Lok helped expand the PACE model across the country, forming the National PACE Association in 1994, and supporting the initial group of PACE replication sites. This successful replication on the model, laid the groundwork for federal legislation making PACE a permanent part of the Medicare program and option for state Medicaid programs in 1997.

In June, On Lok launched "50 Stories," a social media campaign featuring a collection of stories that tell the On Lok and PACE story the On Lok PACE and On Lok 30th Street Senior Center Facebook pages and On Lok LinkedIn.

"On Lok's focus on honoring the elder and keeping them connected to their family and their community as they aged led to an innovative model demonstrating how long-term care could be provided in America," Bloom said. "No longer was the approach remove the elder from the community in order to receive services, instead the approach was creating a network of supports and services that enable elders to keep their relationships and activities at the center of their lives."

The value of the PACE model of care was recently reinforced by the experience of PACE enrollees during the pandemic. PACE participants became infected from COVID-19 at one-third the rate of those in a nursing home. As a result, their rate of death was also one third of that of nursing home residents.

The pandemic was disruptive and challenging for all Americans. However, the PACE model of care was able to demonstrate the value of a flexible system of care that can shaped to serve the needs of each individual enrollee.

The pandemic has forced all American to look at the way that we provide long-term care in a new light. As we search for 21^st century alternatives to nursing homes, PACE stands as a proven model that is more affordable, provides better care and is focused on each individual achieving their highest quality of life even as they face their final years.

"50 years ago, the leaders of On Lok were far ahead of their time, Bloom said. "Now the time is right to demand more from our long-term care delivery system. PACE is ready to help every community meet that challenge."

Over 55,000 individuals are enrolled in PACE today. 140 PACE organizations operate in 30 states.

Visit: www.pace4you.org

SOURCE National PACE Association