Your Health. Your Journey. Our Support.
Celebrating National PACE Month with stories of care, connection, and community.
September is National PACE Month, and we are proud to recognize the power of PACE in our communities. Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) offer a truly unique care experience for seniors. With customized care plans and a welcoming center, participants receive everything they need—from physical and occupational therapy to skilled nursing, primary care, nutrition, and social support—all under one roof. It’s a one-stop hub for holistic health, designed to support independence, dignity, and well-being every step of the way.
In honor of National PACE Month, we asked participants across our Trinity Health PACE family to share their experiences, in their own words. Read or watch below to learn more.
Stories of Strength and Support
Trinity Health PACE Alexandria participant Joylaine talks about how joining PACE has helped her depression and health.
Mercy LIFE participant Marianne talks about how her experience in the program has improved her health, helped her make friends and stay social.
Living the Good, Healthy Life: Bill's Testimonial
When Bill first joined PACE, his A1C was 11.7 and he weighed 228 lbs. Now, a year and a half later, he’s lost 24 lbs and brought his A1C down to 6.2. He credits the Mercy LIFE team—especially the dietitian, for helping him turn his health around.
“I owe that all to the dietitian here,” Bill said. “She gave me a meal plan and shopping list, and I stick to it faithfully.”
Bill’s passion for exercise has inspired others at the center. He leads a Friday morning exercise group and follows a home routine with help from the rehab staff. The group’s popularity even led to a room change to fit everyone. He also joins a walking group where he’s nicknamed “Silver Fox.”
“I feel great. I feel like I could run the Boston Marathon,” Bill said proudly.
Now 81, Bill is thriving in retirement and deeply involved at the center, attending four days a week. He helps with crafts and activities, and staff say he’s a beloved part of the Mercy LIFE family.
Center Supervisor Satonya Jackson (pictured left with Bill) shared that everyone misses Bill when he is not at the center and asks where he is that day, going on to say they are all well connected there.
“If I didn’t have the day center, I don’t know what I’d be doing,” Bill said.
He gives Mercy LIFE a 5-star rating and praises everyone from the medical team (including Dr. Brian Chase) to the drivers who know him by name.
Bill’s slogan—“Live the Good, Healthy Life at Mercy LIFE”—is now displayed at the center. Reflecting on his life, including surviving a hotel explosion during his Vietnam service, Bill says, “It was not my time to go.”
“Mercy LIFE Massachusetts is the best thing that has happened to me.”
Trinity Health PACE participant Wanda talks about how she enjoys activities like Bingo, Bible study, and singing at the center.
Trinity Health PACE Alexandria participant Yvette shares how physical therapy and group activities have helped her since enrolling in the program.
The Show's Not Over: Carl's Path to Healing and Independence
When you ask Carl Scott, 59, how enrolling in a PACE program has helped him, he does not miss a beat:
“My whole life changed – they helped rehabilitate me, find a place to live, and I have met new people.”
Before he joined the Pennsylvania program, Mercy LIFE, Carl had a painful accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
“I was working overnight during a heat wave in the summer, the 9 pm – 6 am shift. I was doing laundry and put it in my car. By the time I got home to unload the laundry, I felt hot, the heat coming on me and I felt faint. I went upstairs to cool off, and at the top of the stairs, I fell. My son was home, but he couldn’t do anything since I was already falling, so he called an ambulance. One of my teeth went into my lung, I had a spinal injury, and I could not do anything.”
Carl said he had been on a ventilator for a week or so, he was in rehab for a month, and he could not feed himself. When he came home from the hospital, he was still very weak and needed to move out of his house. His son was moving, and Carl needed an accessible place without steps and stairs, so he could get around.
“I moved to a nice, small apartment, but I was kind of isolated there. There were still three steps in and three steps out. “
About six to eight months later, Carl connected with Mercy LIFE Social Worker Iesha White who helped him find a new apartment.
“His old apartment was unsafe, and it was in the very back of the complex. We worked really hard to help him with housing. Finding housing in less than a year is pretty unusual, but we were able to find Carl a wonderful apartment on the ground level with a ramp and stair chair,” Iesha said.
She added that new housing was her number one goal when she discovered his living situation was not an optimal environment.
“It became a mission for the two of us,” she said.
Carl described his home with excitement, adding that the kitchen was made to his height, there are boosters on the couch to help him move to and from the couch, and a recliner in the bedroom.
In addition to finding a safe and accessible home, Carl has worked hard with his Mercy LIFE team on improving his health and mobility.
“Rehab is excellent for me. I recently started walking with the walker and I am getting a lot stronger. I am proud that I got my mobility back and that I can move on my own more. There was a time that I could not sit up on my own or get in and out of bed,” Carl said.
Iesha mentioned she, along with the rest of the team (including a nurse, primary care doctor, physical, occupational, and recreational therapists), are really invested in his care plan.
She added how hard Carl works.
“He’s a worker bee, he’s a fighter. His temperament is wonderful. He is steady, kind, and he keeps going. He is truly a partner with us,” she said.
Carl remembers the doctor’s words after his accident:
“A person with that type of accident – some people would never come out of it.”
Carl said he surprised himself and belonging to Mercy LIFE has been a blessing. Carl’s positivity radiates through his voice when he says that he is all in with his healing.
“The show is not over yet. My story is not over. I should write a book.”
