Remembering Linda Trowbridge |
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CalPACE and the PACE community lost an inspiring leader and friend when CalPACE board chair, Linda Trowbridge, CEO of Center for Elders’ Independence, unfortunately passed away in August.
Linda believed the PACE healthcare plan to be the best possible model of care for older adults. The period in which she served as board chair saw tremendous growth in PACE in California and increasing awareness of the PACE model of care. She was instrumental in launching several CalPACE initiatives to expand who PACE serves and how it serves them, including a highly successful PACE 2.0 West Coast growth collaborative and strategic analysis of additional new roles for PACE in the long-term care continuum. CalPACE also became an active player in state and national efforts to reform long-term services and supports and promote access to home and community based services, including the state of California’s Master Plan for Aging and Cal-AIM and Long-Term Care at Home proposals, and participated actively in LTSS coalitions including the California Aging and Disability Alliance and California Collaborative for LTSS.
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PACE Successfully Adapts to COVID-19 Challenges |
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With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, PACE organizations quickly shifted their care from largely center based to largely home-based services. Through extensive use of telehealth, PACE organizations have been able to conduct timely participant assessments and to monitor and communicate with participants. Staff have been retrained to enable them to monitor and respond to the health care needs of participants, to ensure their safety and to help them overcome social isolation. Access to center services remains available for participants who require therapy, clinic visits and specialty care. All PACE organizations have implemented CDC protocols and recommendations for screening and testing of participants and staff and infection contro l. Due to its success in managing COVID-19 risks, PACE has been identified as an option for increasing the number of at-risk beneficiaries who can be safely discharged from hospitals to home and community settings, and who can move from nursing homes back into the community, in the state’s COVID-19 response proposals. Click here for more information about how PACE organizations are responding to the COVID-19 crisis: https://www.npaonline.org/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-information-and-resources/pace-organizations-respond-coronavirus
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PACE Enrollment in California Continues to Grow |
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Enrollment in the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in California has reached nearly 11,000 according to data collected by CalPACE.
Enrollment in PACE grew from 3,100 in December 2011 to 10,090 as of January 2020, an over three-fold increase, reflecting the growing popularity of the program. As of July 1, 2020 that number grew again to 10,938 participants. Click here to view PACE's enrollment over the past decade.
PACE is a model of person-centered care for individuals aged 55 years old or better that have complex care needs and are certified by the state to need a nursing home level of care, but prefer to live in their own home.
PACE has been shown to reduce rates of emergency room visits, unnecessary hospital admissions, long-term nursing home placements, and reduce the cost of care and the strain on family caregivers. More than 90 percent of PACE participants are able to successfully remain in their homes and communities. PACE participants often live longer, are more socially engaged, and have a better quality of life than those in nursing homes or other institutional settings.
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The past several months have seen the opening of several new PACE Centers in California, increasing access to the proven PACE model of care:
- AltaMed opened a new PACE center in July, serving residents of the Long Beach area;
- Central Valley PACE commenced operations in Modesto in August, serving residents of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties;
- InnovAge opened a new center located in north Sacramento in July, serving residents of Sacramento county and nearby communities in El Dorado, Sutter, Yuba, and San Joaquin counties;
- Redwood Coast PACE opened a new center in Fortuna, CA in to improve access to PACE services in Humboldt county;
- St. Paul’s opened a satellite clinic in Encinitas to better serve residents in north San Diego county;
- Welbe Health opened a new PACE center in Long Beach in August to improve access to PACE in the Long Beach community.
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September was National PACE Month |
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Each September, CalPACE celebrates Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE®). This care model enables nursing home-eligible individuals to live in the community as long as possible. PACE is successful at keeping more than 95 percent of its enrollees in the community and out of nursing homes. PACE programs in California now collectively serve over 11,000 frail elderly beneficiaries and provide and coordinate care through 58 PACE Center and alternative care sites in the state. To find a PACE organization near you, visit www.npaonline.org/findpace. |
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CalPACE, the California PACE Association, is a 501(c)(6) association that is dedicated to the expansion of comprehensive health care services to seniors with chronic care needs through the Program of All-inclusive Care for Elderly (PACE). Through education and advocacy, CalPACE members strive to support, maintain, and safeguard the PACE model and promote high-quality comprehensive health care services to California's seniors.
CalPACE represents sixteen operational PACE organizations in California. Our members and allied organizations provide and coordinate services to more than 10,000 participants through 50 PACE Centers and Alternative Care Settings in 15 counties.
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