Empath Well being has opened a brand new PACE (Program of Complete Take care of the Aged) heart in Tampa, Florida. The middle will function below the group’s Empath LIFE (Residing Independence for the Aged) model.
That is the second PACE heart the nonprofit senior care well being system has opened and the primary program of its type in its residence county of Hillsborough. Empath’s first heart, Suncoast PACE, opened in 2012.
The event of those applications is a part of Empath’s broader technique to additional develop its providers throughout the continuum, in line with CEO Jonathan Fleece.
“Our group right here at Empath Well being, we’re devoted to serving all spectrums of our communities and we’re 100% dedicated to variety, fairness and inclusion,” Fleece informed Hospice Information. “Each internally inside our group, but additionally externally, in order that we will decide to serving our group in a various, equitable and inclusive manner.”
The middle gives seniors entry to major care, therapies, specialised care, social and emotional help and day care on the Empath LIFE day heart and medical clinic; residence care and help and transportation to and from Empath LIFE or different permitted specialists.
This system will serve chronically unwell seniors age 55 and older who’re licensed by the state of Florida to want a nursing residence stage of care and who can dwell safely at residence and locally.
“Being an inmate, I would like socialization and PACE to supply the bodily and psychological actions we want,” Suncoast PACE participant Debbi James informed Hospice Information. “We train; We do all types of enjoyable issues.”
Empath’s enterprise traces embrace palliative care, residence well being care, major care, palliative care, PACE, AIDS and sexual wellness care, and grownup day providers for a mixed complete of greater than 23,000 individuals. The group is the father or mother firm of 17 associates and two philanthropic foundations.
The group gives hospice care by way of a number of manufacturers, together with Tidewell Hospice, Suncoast Hospice, Empath Hospice, Hospice of Marion County and Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough.
Empath Well being is within the technique of affiliating with Florida-based Trustbridge, increasing its presence within the state.
A 3rd heart is deliberate to be in-built Manatee County, Florida, later this 12 months.
Packages like Empath LIFE and Suncoast PACE may also help enhance care coordination and high quality of life for seniors, in line with Tom Reiter, senior vice chairman of Empath’s Full Care Division and the Nationwide Administration Providers Group ( MSO) of PACE.
“One of many advantages for individuals contemplating enrolling within the PACE program is that they get an interdisciplinary group that can be the supplier of all their help providers. So not solely do we offer medical doctors or social employees, their residence care, their transportation to and from the PACE Heart, to and from any medical appointments they might have, however they get them from one group,” Reiter informed Hospice Information. “That eliminates fragmented care.”