New KCK center offers WyCo seniors managed care at home
A new adult care facility opened in downtown Kansas City, Kan. A ribbon-cutting was held last Thursday at Midland Care’s PACE Center at 818 Ann Avenue. It offers seniors who qualify with an alternative to nursing home care. PACE, an acronym for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, is a national program that helps people age 55 and older continue to live in their own homes by providing medical, social and other services.
“We anticipate being able to serve around 120 participants out of this site,” says Heath Rath, KCK PACE site manager.
His facility will serve Wyandotte County residents. The center will welcome senior citizens weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to deliver medical and other services and offer adult daycare, meals, social activities, such as field trips, arts and crafts workshops and therapy.
There’s also a 24-hour hotline that provides PACE participants with free phone access to a nurse 24/7. Transportation to and from home to medical appointments and to the center is also provided.
“We chose the site because it’s centrally located in a densely populated area, and we like being on the cusp of the historic downtown,” Rath says.
Midland Care’s KCK center serves participants with a care team that currently includes Rath and Katrina Becker, a registered nurse care team leader; Lydia Ramirez, PACE support specialist; and a newly hired social worker.
“Until we reach a census large enough to hire additional staff, we will be using interdisciplinary team members from our Lawrence and Topeka PACE centers where we have a full staff of medical professionals,” Rath says, adding, “But we are looking to hire a certified medication aide and a driver for our KCK center.”
Interested applicants can call the office or apply online at www.midlandcare.org.
Midland Care in KCK works with the University of Kansas and Providence medical centers for specialty services, such as urologists or cardiologists, Rath says.
To be eligible for PACE, Wyandotte County residents must:
•Be age 55 or older;
•Meet the state’s criteria for requiring a nursing home level of care;
•Be assessed by a PACE team; and
•Be able to live safely at home with help from PACE.
Recent U.S. Census Bureau updates show that 32,502 Wyandotte County are age 55 or older. Among their ranks, there are 1,065 potentially eligible enrollees, medically and financially, for PACE, according to a 2012 feasibility report.
PACE participants can have either Medicare or Medicaid or both. They can also pay for PACE personally if they’re not covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
“We accept a small percentage of private pay, which is basically out of pocket for enrollees who don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, as well as some forms of long-term care insurance,” Rath says.
Language is not a barrier for PACE enrollees. Midland Care’s KCK center contracts with a translation service.
“They can provide translation in any language we would need,” Rath says.
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, which administers PACE in Kansas, has a consumer brochure on its Website (www.kdads.ks.gov/) that lists all benefits available through PACE to Kansans who qualify. Midland Care, serving northeast Kansas, is one of three PACE providers in the state. Via Christie and Bluestem Communities of Hesston serve central and south central Kansas, respectively.
For more information about PACE and what it covers, visit the National PACE Association online at www.npaonline.org.
To inquire about PACE for self or another, call the KCK center at 913-562-9951 or the headquarters in Topeka at 1-800-491-3691. TTY users should call 1-800-766-3777.
