WelbeHealth Opens First Bay Area PACE Center Serving Vulnerable Seniors in San Jose

Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) meets the need for integrated health services in Santa Clara County and southern Alameda County, a diverse community with thousands of PACE eligible seniors.

New center extends WelbeHealth's collaboration with Sutter Health to underserved communities in San Jose and surrounding areas

See photos of WelbeHealth's new San Jose PACE center here

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the physician-led senior health services provider WelbeHealth, in partnership with Northern California-based health care system Sutter Health, announced the opening of a new Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center in San Jose. The new center will provide essential health care and wrap-around services to diverse low-income older adults. WelbeHealth San Jose is now enrolling new participants, with services set to begin January 1, 2024.

"We are excited to work with our Sutter Health partners to serve the most vulnerable seniors with better quality and compassion in the San Jose area," said Si France, MD, CEO at WelbeHealth. "Through this expansion, we are ensuring that matriarchs and patriarchs can age in place and thrive in their communities."

Sutter Health is one of the largest health systems serving Northern California's Medi-Cal eligible population and has partnered with WelbeHealth to improve healthcare for underserved seniors.

"WelbeHealth provides nursing-home eligible seniors with the wrap-around services they need to remain safely at home in our communities," said Kevin Cook, Greater Silicon Valley Market President at Sutter Health. "San Jose is home to a rapidly growing aging population that will benefit from greater access to PACE."

Over 4,000 PACE eligible seniors reside within 15 miles of the San Jose location, and the population of these seniors is anticipated to increase. The California Department of Aging forecasts that Santa Clara County's senior population will surge by over 200% by 2060, while Alameda County's senior population is expected to increase by 150% by the same year.

"Many seniors in San Jose have been left out of the region's broader economic growth. It's difficult for low-income older adults to make ends meet and get the care they need amidst high rent, home care labor shortages and stretched family caregivers. WelbeHealth and Sutter Health are committed to delivering the PACE model, ensuring vulnerable seniors are not left behind," said Vaneesh Soni, MD, Chief Growth Officer at WelbeHealth.

PACE is a proven, high-quality, cost-effective solution to address the care gaps left by the underfunded and patchwork system for long-term care in San Jose and across the United States by delivering comprehensive health and supportive services for seniors. The price for long-term care is expected to reach half a trillion dollars a year by 2030, yet the current infrastructure cannot support this growth and the United States lags behind most other wealthy countries in long-term care investment. PACE is one obvious solution because it delivers better health outcomes at a lower cost.

WelbeHealth is committed to addressing the long-term healthcare crisis for low-income seniors through PACE expansion. In addition to San Jose, WelbeHealth operates programs across California, including Modesto, Stockton, Fresno, Pasadena, Long Beach, North Hollywood, and Rosemead. All locations deliver fully integrated care, allowing frail seniors to age in place with the support of interdisciplinary teams, including doctors and nurses, physical therapists, home care aides, and social workers. Wrap-around support like meals, social activities, and transportation address social determinants of health.

About WelbeHealth
WelbeHealth is a physician-led public benefit company founded in 2015 that provides comprehensive health care services for seniors through a fully integrated program that includes all medical and dental care, physical and occupational therapy, transportation to medical appointments, meals, and personal care services. WelbeHealth addresses social determinants of health to keep the most vulnerable seniors living safely in their own homes. Services are delivered through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), a national Medicare and Medicaid program.

About Sutter Health
Sutter Health's integrated, not-for-profit system of associated clinicians, employees and volunteers supports more than 3 million patients in diverse communities across two dozen counties. Headquartered in Northern California, Sutter provides access to high-quality, affordable care through its hospitals, medical foundations, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent and walk-in care centers, telehealth, home health and hospice services. As part of its commitment to improving community health, Sutter invested $899 million in the community in 2022 ? this amount includes traditional charity, the unreimbursed costs of providing care to Medi-Cal patients and investments in community health programs.

For more information, please visit welbehealth.com and sutterhealth.org

CONTACT: Nate Goehring, [email protected]
Angharad Bhardwaj, [email protected]

SOURCE WelbeHealth