The General Assembly should pass legislation providing $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to expand the Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), advocates said during a roundtable discussion with state legislators on Friday.

PACE, which allows nursing home-eligible individuals to instead receive care while living at home, is currently only available in one county in Ohio — Cuyahoga County. Program advocates are seeking legislation to require the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) to expand PACE into Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery, Lorain, Lucas and Summit counties.

Ann Conn, president and CEO of the McGregor Foundation, said her organization has been managing PACE in Cuyahoga County since 2010.

“When we took over the program it had 150 seniors that we were supporting. … We now support over 650,” Conn said, noting the average PACE center across the U.S. serves 500 seniors.

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on September 2, 2022.  Copyright 2022 Hannah News Service, Inc.