PACE of Southwest Michigan

PACE of Southwest Michigan opened in September of 2012 and has served over 535 total participants. Our PACE program was launched by a joint partnership between Spectrum Health Lakeland, Region IV Area Agency on Aging, and Caring Circle. These organizations identified a need for an alternative to the traditional nursing home model of care in our community. We started with a small staff of caregivers, physicians, and social workers and enrolled 64 participants during our inaugural year. Since then, we have expanded our team to over 90 professionals and currently serve over 220 participants throughout Southwest Michigan.

PACE Model Origins

The PACE Model of Care was created in 1973 in an effort to help the Asian-American community in San Francisco care for its elders in their own homes. Placing elders in nursing homes was not a culturally acceptable solution for their families. In order to meet this community need, On Lok Senior Services (“On Lok” is Cantonese for “peaceful, happy abode”) created an innovative way to offer a comprehensive array of medical supervision, physical and occupational therapies, nutrition, transportation, respite care, socialization and other needed services using home care and an adult day center setting.

In 1986 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided funding for six sites, in addition to On Lok, to develop PACE demonstration programs. This was made possible by Congressional authorization of additional Medicare and Medicaid waivers. Based on the success of the demonstration programs, PACE was able to make the rare transition from demonstration program to permanent provider type. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 approved the granting of provider status to PACE programs under Medicare and gave state Medicaid agencies the option of including PACE as a Medicaid benefit.

For more information about the history of the PACE model of care, visit the National PACE Association’s website at https://www.npaonline.org/policy-advocacy/value-pace