Pace Provider Mercy Life West Philadelphia’s Innovative Approach To Clinical Care

The Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model has earned a quiet yet mighty reputation for delivering a concierge-like care experience that keeps seniors healthy and independent. The reported success of Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia is just another recent example of this.

Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia recently received the Pathway to Excellence designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The designation is reserved for organizations that demonstrate a positive nursing environment.

So far, Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia is the only PACE organization in the U.S. to earn this designation.

Currently, Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia serves some of the most vulnerable seniors in West Philadelphia, functioning as a nursing home prevention program.

“All of the services we provide are intended to help support our seniors to live independently in their own home for as long as possible, if not for the rest of their lives,” Molly Crumley, chief nursing officer at Trinity Health PACE, told Home Health Care News.

Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia is part of Trinity Health PACE, one of the largest PACE providers in the U.S. Trinity Health PACE has 15 owned and managed programs, 25 PACE centers, and five religious communities under its belt. Plus, the program has its own home care department.

The program’s innovative approaches to clinical care were a factor in helping Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia earn the Pathway to Excellence designation, according to the organization. For example, when program participants voiced that they no longer wanted to rely on their caregivers or family members to dispense their medications, Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia worked to address this.

“They wanted to see if there was any technology that could help them, so our nurses did some research and found a medication machine that could read the scripts by holding up the pill bottle to them,” Patty Pokrandt, director of education and professional development at Trinity Health PACE, told HHCN. “It’s really being innovative, listening and then having the ability, through that shared decision making, to come up with solutions to help. When they got that medication dispenser … it helped increase the participants’ independence.”

PACE in practice

Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia also set up vaccine clinics for both program participants and their family members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Decreasing the program’s hospital readmission rate has also been a key area of focus.

“[Our nurses] rated the literature, and they looked at best practices for how to keep elders in their homes, and they found guidelines from CMS,” Pokrandt said. “On day one, a home care nurse does a visit one day after discharge, on day three, the clinic nurse does a visit in the clinic, and then on day seven, they see our provider, and we have been able to reduce admissions following that evidence-based framework.”

Pokrandt noted that nurses having a voice at Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia has been a differentiating factor.

“They’ve really been able to do some creative caregiving, because they’re at the front line, and they see what the problems are and the challenges, and then they’re able to work to fix it,” she said.

Pokrandt also credits this environment with Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia’s nursing turnover rate. The organization has reported a 0% turnover rate since 2020, resulting in greater consistency in patient care.

Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia has also set its sights on caring for underserved communities. Many of these seniors are dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

“When they join our program, we become both the provider of their care and the payer,” Crumley said. “We become their insurance company, which really sets us apart from other traditional insurance plans. Some of the biggest challenges are the population we serve. They have been underserved most of their life. They have not had the best access to health care. They have frequently utilized emergency rooms as a primary care doctor. They have serious co-morbidity health issues, and by the time they get to us, they’re pretty medically compromised.”

Crumley explained that Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia’s nurses often become a source of support for these underserved participants who sometimes lack a familial presence.

“The benefits are endless,” she said. “They come into our center. They’re able to have their breakfast and lunch. They have socialization with their peers. They’re able to be seen in the clinic by nurses and providers. We have a robust rehab department where they can receive physical therapy and occupational therapy. We do a really great job keeping our participants out of long-term nursing homes.”

Ultimately, Crumley and Pokrandt believe that further growth will be important for PACE’s future.

“Not every state has PACE programs,” Crumley said. “There are some states that don’t necessarily understand the benefit of a PACE program. Advocacy is one of our biggest opportunities, right now, to continue to educate legislators on the benefits of PACE, both from a financial standpoint and a quality of care standpoint.”

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