Quantcast

Petersburg PACE program closing

Joey Matthews | 4/2/2015, 4:18 p.m.
Riverside Health System is closing its Petersburg PACE program designed to keep elderly people in their homes and avoid expensive ...

Riverside Health System is closing its Petersburg PACE program designed to keep elderly people in their homes and avoid expensive nursing home care.

Sixty-seven people served by the program will be affected, said Riverside spokesperson Caitlyn Worner.

She said they are being encouraged to continue the program at one of two Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) locations in Richmond, with transportation provided. Individuals known as navigators are assigned to help them transition to care in Richmond this month.

“We’re committed to continuing to provide the same great services to them,” Ms. Worner said.

Riverside PACE offers outpatient specialty health services, social activities and transportation for senior citizens so they can remain in their homes in lieu of nursing homes. Participants must be 55 years or older and eligible for nursing homes.

Ms. Worner said how many of the 67 workers at the Peters- burg facility retain their jobs “will depend on how many Petersburg participants choose to remain in the program after our transition.”

The nonprofit health care program lost $2.2 million last year at its Petersburg facility, which opened in May 2012. Overall, the company lost $5.5 million nationwide last year.

Ms. Worner said the group launched an extensive outreach campaign in 2013 to attract more clients to the Petersburg facility, “but we didn’t see the growth we expected.”

The health care system also is changing services at one of its two Richmond sites.

The Manchester location at 701 Gordon St. on South Side, which serves about 140 people, will become an alternative care site in mid-May, with services scaled back to primarily meals and social activities. It also will open on weekends. It began as a full-service location in 2009.

The 90 workers at that location have been asked to reapply for their positions.

The MacTavish location at 1300 Mac Tavish Ave. in the West End, which serves about 100 people, will remain full service, offering medical care, therapy services and social activities.