YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A building left vacant in the wake of Rite Aid’s decision to close its Mahoning Valley pharmacies last year is today an all-encompassing health care center for seniors.
Representatives of Ohio Senior Care were on hand Monday to celebrate the opening of the new Buckeye Pace (an acronym for Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) center at 2701 Market St.
The company has renovated three former Rite Aid stores in Ohio – the Youngstown location, one in Warren at 2154 Elm Road and another in Ashtabula, said Craig Worland, chief operating officer. These are the company’s first three in the state.
“Mahoning County, in particular, has a lot of seniors who can benefit from this,” Worland said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday. The new center is expected to employ approximately 30 and open Aug. 1.
He said the objective of the program is to provide medical and health services to seniors at a single location so they can age in place at their homes, Worland said. To qualify, participants must be approved for long-term care at a skilled nursing facility but prefer to remain in their homes, he said.
“We provide the wraparound services necessary for them to do that,” Worland said. “From transportation to primary care, to medication, to home care, to food and nutrition – all of those pieces are part of the Pace program, at no cost to the participant.”
More than 95% of the program’s participants qualify for Medicaid, Worland said. “Pace saves Medicaid dollars,” he said, noting the program reduces costs on average by approximately 20% when compared with admission to a skilled nursing center. “States are going to have to find lower-cost alternatives for people, and we’ve proven we can do that,” he added.
One Senior Care operates 12 Pace centers nationwide – seven in Pennsylvania, the three new centers in Ohio and two in Kentucky, where there are plans to open two additional locations.
The Youngstown center provides a common lunch and activity area, a full kitchen, social gathering rooms and spaces for physical and occupational therapy. The back of the building is devoted to clinical care, where the center manages a participant’s physician appointments, prescriptions, bloodwork, eye exams and dental services. Buckeye Pace is able to provide transportation to and from those appointments that require in-office care.
“We handle everything. It is all-inclusive,” said Maria McCartin, provider liaison. “You don’t have to call or go to five or six doctors’ offices.”
Dr. Jerry Wilborn, chief medical officer for One Senior Care, said he’s worked with the Pace program for more than two years and sees it as a practical model to help reduce medical costs while providing the necessary services to allow seniors to remain at home.
“It’s all about outcomes,” he said. “The outcome we’re trying to achieve here is keeping people in the community.”
The program is also intended to guard against unnecessary hospitalizations, Wilborn said, which could result in a client being moved into a nursing home.
“Our approach at Pace is very unique,” he said. “We have 11 disciplines that really wrap their arms around every aspect, whether it’s the social determinants of health care outcomes or the acute care determinants. We put those together, and that gives us the best chance of giving them the best outcomes and keeping our promise to keep them at home.”
Pictured at top: From left are Dr. Jerry Wilborn, chief medical officer at One Senior Care; Marcie Campbell, vice president of marketing; and Craig Worland, chief operating officer.