Blue Ridge Hospice is launching its first Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) program, which will begin accepting participants on Sept. 1.

The program is branded as Blue Ridge Independence at Home, designed to offer seniors a “comprehensive” suite of services to address medical and nonmedical needs and help them stay in their homes, the organization indicated.

The launch reflects a longstanding trend of hospices diversifying their services to include upstream care, an area in which PACE programs are gaining ground.

“Our desire to get into the PACE program was driven by a need to make the continuum of care more smooth for the frail aging population, particularly those who may be among the most vulnerable. As a community-based provider with deep roots in Virginia, we can leverage our expertise in caring for individuals in their homes,” Jason Parsons, CEO of Blue Ridge Hospice, told Hospice News. “Having had a lot of success in terms of being able to effectively balance our mission and our margin and with the tremendous support of the community, we made the decision to make Blue Ridge Independence at Home.”

The Virginia-based nonprofit capitalized the program largely through philanthropic donations

Participants in the program will receive preventative, primary, acute and long-term health and personal care services, including social activities. They will have access to an interdisciplinary team including physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, therapists, dieticians, transportation drivers and personal care aides.

The program includes a range of home-based services to support activities of daily living, while medical services will be provided at the Blue Ridge Independence at Home PACE Center in Winchester, Virginia.

Individuals are eligible to participate if they are aged 55 or older and suffer from a chronic or serious illness or disability and meet certain criteria. Most of the participants will likely be dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits, according to Blue Ridge.

Investing in PACE programs has benefits for hospices, but also comes with risks. These programs have complex licensing processes and starting them up is capital intensive. It often takes as long as three years to bring them into the black.

“It’s tremendously expensive, but it’s a very sustainable model of care that improves outcomes. We think in terms of net revenue and our ability to further reinvest in our community. Our PACE program can be tremendous in that way,” Parsons said. “If we’re as effective as we think, we will be managing the total cost of care, improving care outcomes for our participants. So there’s light at the end of the tunnel at the intersection of doing good and doing well.”