Published: December 09, 2007 11:48 pm      

SeniorLIFE: ‘You couldn’t ask for a better place’

As she lay in a nursing home bed last year, Jean Delusa wasn’t looking forward to her future.

The 78-year-old Prospect native knew she couldn’t take care of herself, but she didn’t want to stay in the Good Samaritan Nursing home much longer.

That’s when she heard about SeniorLIFE Johnstown’s alternative.

It turned her life around.

“You couldn’t ask for a better place,” Delusa said at the 401 Broad St. center.

SeniorLIFE Johnstown is one of a growing number of Living Independence for the Elderly centers in the state.

The center’s programs cover every aspect of its members’ lives, said Mark Irwin, chief operating officer.

LIFE is Pennsylvania’s version of national Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE. The LIFE acronym was chosen here to avoid confusion with Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly, the state lottery-funded prescription program.

The Johnstown center recently received Medicare approval, opening its services to more elderly residents.

Under a program that replaces all other Medicare insurance coverage, SeniorLIFE receives $3,700 a month for each of its members. In return, it takes care of members’ medical needs and makes sure their daily living needs are being met.

“I come here three days a week,” Delusa said.

“I come for everything: Companionship and for my health, and for the people. They help you out with our physical needs, and I see the doctor when I want to.”

The other four days, she handles her own care in her Dale apartment.

To qualify for the program, seniors who need more complex medical services must be eligible for both Medicare and meet low-income requirements for Medicaid. They must be referred by their primary doctor and be evaluated by SeniorLIFE’s medical staff, Irwin said.

Once accepted, seniors must transfer all their medical coverage to SeniorLIFE, making the center their primary care provider.

In addition to medical needs, the plans cover personal care, meals, transportation and prescription drugs.

It’s comprehensive care, Irwin stresses.

“Our therapists, doctors, aides, nurses, drivers – we all communicate on a regular basis,” Irwin said. “We develop a care plan that addresses their needs.”