The facility becomes North Florida’s first and the fifth statewide for older people who don’t want to move from their homes to a permanent assisted-care center.
By: Scott Butler, Florida Times-Union
It’s been in the works for seven years and now licensing approval has been granted for the first Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in North Florida, according to health care officials.
The PACE Place will open March 25 following a ribbon-cutting at 5450 Ramona Blvd. in Jacksonville. It is designed for people 55 and older with chronic health conditions who qualify for nursing home care but choose to remain independent and live in the comfort of their home.
The national program center functions as an adult day care including medical needs, counseling, physical therapy, meals and activities. Officials said transportation will be available to and from the center and some services provided in the home.
The PACE Place is part of a nonprofit joint venture of Aging True Community Senior Services and Community Hospice & Palliative Care. It becomes the fifth PACE program provider in the Florida — Hope PACE in the Fort Myers area, Florida PACE in Miami, Morse Life PACE in Palm Beach and Suncoast PACE in Pinellas. Nationwide there 263 centers.
“PACE provides the gold standard of community-based elder care services, and we are thrilled this resource will now be available to residents of North Florida,” said Susan Ponder-Stansel, board chairwoman for The PACE Place.
The center will be staffed with primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, dieticians, occupational and speech therapists, aides, social workers and volunteers.
“With the addition of PACE Place in the Jacksonville community, the state of Florida expands access to quality health care for those who need nursing home care but who prefer to remain in their own homes,” said Samira K. Beckwith, president of Florida Pace Providers.
For more information, to enroll in the program, or to RSVP for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of The PACE Place, please call 904.428.0400 or send an email to Enrollments@ThePacePlace.org.