CenterLight Healthcare PACE, a program offering all-inclusive care for adults aged 55 and older, celebrated the reopening of its Bushwick center on Aug. 1 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Carnival celebration.
A dancer and drummer from Pure Samba entertained the crowd with popular Carnival music, while participants honed their arts and crafts skills by creating masks for the Caribbean Carnival.
Tara Buonocore-Rut, president and CEO of CenterLight Healthcare PACE, told Brooklyn Paper the celebration was an opportunity to welcome participants back to the center, which had been closed since COVID-19.
“We have a beautiful facility with a really vibrant culture [and] wonderful staff, and we’re happy to be able to welcome our participants back and welcome new participants to our family,” Buonocore-Rut said.
CenterLight Healthcare PACE, the largest not-for-profit Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in the nation, operates 11 centers in New York City, Westchester, Nassau and Western Suffolk counties. The centers provide a holistic approach to managed long-term care for adults on Medicare/Medicaid, offering on-site recreational activities, meals, physical and occupational therapy, social, medical, and personal care services, prescription and over-the-counter medications, and transportation. The interdisciplinary team, including doctors, nurses, physical and recreational therapists, and nutritionists, ensures participants receive high-quality and comprehensive care.
Buonocore-Rut explained that the comprehensive care participants receive at CenterLight Healthcare PACE differs from other long-term care facilities and “could be the answer to aging in place in the community.” The “one-stop shop” comprehensive care model empowers adults needing long-term care to live independently at home.
“And that’s what people want. People want to stay out of nursing homes. They don’t want to be in a hospital, and we are the answer to that,” Buonocore-Rut said.
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, chair of the New York City Council’s Committee on Hospitals and a registered nurse, told Brooklyn Paper that New York City seniors deserved comprehensive care in a beautiful and clean setting like PACE offers.
“That’s what I’m talking about when we are providing care, especially with older adults, [who] spent their lives investing in our city. And [this] is the best way to make sure that the time they need us, we are providing the best quality care for them,” Narcisse said. “This facility is actually the presentation we like to see all the pieces coming together for PACE.”
CenterLight Healthcare PACE participant Virgilio Nieves, who is legally blind, told Brooklyn Paper he was “blessed” to be part of the PACE community. After he was diagnosed with the disability, CenterLight Healthcare PACE became his “eyes,” Nieves said.
“[CenterLight Healthcare PACE] made me feel comfortable. They made me feel that [my blindness] wasn’t a disability,” Nieves shared. “They made me feel positive. Like, ‘Don’t worry because you can’t see, we got you.’ They helped me with everything. I am totally blessed.”
Nieves enjoys activities like dancing and singing, the “great” breakfast and lunch, and appreciates all the friends he has made since he’s been coming to CenterLight Healthcare PACE.
“Even though I don’t see [them], hearing their voices, it’s so enriching because I know we’re all family,” Nieves said.
CenterLight Healthcare PACE is located at at 130 Bushwick Ave., between Maujer and Scholes streets.
