The McGregor Group to Take Over the Local PACE Program for Low-Income Seniors

CLEVELAND, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Ohio Department of Aging have chosen The A.M. McGregor Group, the oldest not-for-profit, non-sectarian provider of aging services in Northeast Ohio, to manage the local Program for the All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).  

The special Program, which enables low-income seniors to age at home rather than in costlier residential care facilities, will serve participants through Centers for Senior Independence at the Margaret Wagner House in Cleveland Heights and the MetroHealth Senior Health & Wellness Center on Cleveland's West Side.

In addition, McGregor will partner with University Hospitals to provide medical services and Columbus-based Senior Independence to oversee homecare.   Senior Independence is one of the largest providers of home-based senior care in Ohio.  An affiliate of the Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS), Senior Independence provides services to more than 75,000 seniors in 42 Ohio counties

"Homecare is critical to the growing number of frail and impoverished seniors in Greater Cleveland whom we serve as our highest priority," says Rob Hilton, President and Chief Executive Officer of McGregor. "PACE is extraordinarily important because it offers high-quality care while making the most efficient use of scarce government funding."

According to Hilton, PACE has 200 participants in Cuyahoga County, about half the number who qualify.  "We hope to double that in the next five years," he says.

Tangi McCoy, Chief Operating Officer of The A.M. McGregor Home, will move to McGregor PACE as President and Chief Executive Officer.

The PACE model grew out of a pioneering community-based senior healthcare program in San Francisco in the early 1970s. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversee 72 PACE centers in 30 states. Ohio has only two PACE Programs, McGregor PACE and Tri-health in Cincinnati. Both are administered by the Ohio Department of Aging.  

To qualify for PACE, participants must be eligible for nursing facility admission, yet capable of remaining in their homes with proper care. PACE commits to provide comprehensive care for life as long as the participant agrees to receive required care solely through PACE.

Buses bring enrollees to the PACE centers for medical attention and occupational and recreational therapy.  Caregivers visit participants at home to address health and personal needs.

Only seven percent of PACE participants nationally reside in nursing homes because of the individual attention provided by the program's caregivers, a large taxpayer cost savings.

University Hospitals will build on the strength of its House Calls Program, launched in 2004, which helps homebound seniors beset with heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, memory loss, and other health-related problems. These health problems, combined with other challenges, including a lack of transportation, often prevent the patients from seeking ongoing primary care.

Dr. Peter DeGolia, Director of the Center for Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, will serve as the McGregor PACE Medical Director.

Along with McGregor PACE, the McGregor Group owns and operates the Gardens of McGregor and Amasa Stone that provides skilled and intermediate nursing care in 149 private rooms on a 32-acre campus overlooking East Cleveland.

In addition, the adjacent McGregor Home offers 65 affordable independent and assisted living apartments. In 2009 McGregor added to its facilities a 25-room nursing facility in Cleveland Heights known as McGregor at Overlook.  

The McGregor Foundation has distributed more than $8.0 million since its establishment in 2002 to help organizations supporting seniors in need and those who serve them.

McGregor traces its roots to 1877 with the opening of the Amasa Stone House for the elderly.  In 1904, the A.M. McGregor Home opened on its present site with early support from the original Standard Oil stock.  In 2004, the McGregor Home and Amasa Stone House merged into the Gardens of McGregor.

Available Topic Expert: For information on the listed expert, click appropriate link.

Rob Hilton

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=87988

SOURCE The McGregor Group