TRU PACE opens its doors for coordinated care in 2017 for Lafayette seniors
There’s a new facility in Boulder County, and it’s awesome. Particularly if you’re a senior with health issues or a caregiver for an elderly relative. Lafayette’s new TRU PACE Center opens its doors in early 2017 to people ages 55 and older, who can receive coordinated care from a team of health professionals that includes physical, social, psychological, therapeutic, dental, nutritional and other care.
“This will be a great community resource, and we are very, very excited to get the ball rolling,” says outreach and enrollment manager Leslie Mader.
Part of a national program
TRU PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) is part of a national program for seniors. Participants must be Medicare and Medicaid eligible, and certified by the state as nursing-home eligible (Medicaid-ineligible participants can pay that portion of the cost out of pocket). Nationally, only 7 percent of PACE participants are in a nursing home; the goal of the program is to keep frail seniors out of nursing homes and in their own homes for as long as safely possible.
Via Mobility Services will offer transportation to and from the center at 2593 Park Lane. “Via is thrilled to serve Boulder County’s most vulnerable senior citizens,” says Via CEO Frank Bruno. After arriving at the center, participants can access the health clinic, a rehabilitation gym, a day-activities center, showers, outdoor patios, gathering rooms and more. At the facility, seniors can interact with peers, play games, do crafts, watch movies, eat meals, and receive medical evaluations, checkups, medications, baths and other services. The program also sends staff to participants’ homes to help with cleaning, cooking and other tasks.
“It’s really going to help frail seniors from becoming too isolated, which is a big issue for that population,” says Annette Mainland, vice president of philanthropy, “and it will also take some pressure off caregivers of seniors.”
For more info, visit the national website at www.npaonline.org.
—Carol Brock
