Setting the PACE: Collaboration Leads to A New Approach to Long-Term Care

As with most religious institutes, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose and the Sisters of the Holy Family, both located in Fremont, California, have long been concerned with meeting the growing needs of their frail elderly members. While the primary goal has always to been insure high-quality medical services, the rising cost-of-care and the desire to care for their sisters within their own communities have also been major issues. Through collaboration with each other and through partnership with an innovative health care provider, these two religious institutes have now found a solution to their health care crisis. Frail elderly members from both congregations will soon be participating in a health care delivery system known as PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly).

Authorized by the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, PACE is a managed care program that offers the frail elderly comprehensive medical services and integrated medicare and medicaid financing. The primary goal of PACE is to address the acute and/or long-term care needs of elderly clients by offering a total-care package that, for most participants, will allow them to continue living at home. PACE providers utilize a multi-disciplinary, team approach to patient care that includes curative, preventative, rehabilitative and support services. Although most care is provided in adult day health centers, participants also receive services at home and in hospitals or nursing homes as necessary.

The PACE finance system pools each enrollee's health care resources, including medicare, medicaid and, where applicable, private dollars. PACE providers receive a fixed monthly fee per participant and commit to taking responsibility for all of an enrollee's needs. In order to take advantage of the program, participants must meet a series of state and federal eligibility requirements.

Under the leadership of Sister Sharon Flannigan, SHF, President of the Sisters of the Holy Family, and Sister Rose Marie Hennessy, OP, Prioress General for the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, the Holy Family and the Dominican sisters have developed a partnership with On-Lok Senior Health Services, the organization that first pioneered the PACE system. Since the two communities are located across the street from one another, they have decided to create one care center to meet the needs of both groups. Therefore, space at the Sisters of the Holy Family campus is currently being renovated into an adult day health center. On-Lok, which is now in the process of obtaining state and federal approval to extend their services to the Fremont area, will secure all necessary licensing for the new facility. The organization will also establish and maintain contracts with the health care providers.

Scheduled to open in 2000, the health center will serve not only sisters from the two congregations, but also eligible residents from the Fremont area. At the center, participants will receive comprehensive medical care, including doctors visits and occupational, recreational and speech therapy. A series of social programs designed to build and maintain community will also be offered. Further, On-Lok will arrange transportation for patients that require specialized services not offered at the facility. Finally, in-home care will be provided for those seniors who are unable to be transported.

The end result of the PACE system will be improved care for both communities' frail elderly members coupled with dramatic decreases in the cost of long-term care. Best of all, these members will be able to continue living in community with their sisters and participating in the spiritual missions of their religious institutes.

PACE is overseen by the Health Care Financing Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information on the program or to find out if PACE is an option for your state, visit their website at www.hcfa.gov.

A Little Help from My Friends
Sister Andrée Fries, CPPS

"I get by with a little help from my friends." Each of us knows the truth of that adage, and it probably was one of the important things we learned in kindergarten (or even earlier at home.) Religious institutes are most generous in assisting each other in many ways. Brother John writes of some creative models of facility and programmatic collaboration that address diverse retirement needs. Another significant example of religious helping religious is the NRRO Mentor Program.

In 1996, NRRO initiated a mentoring process. Through this system, a religious institute's experienced financial personnel can volunteer to assist other institutes in meeting the reporting requirements for NRRO's Basic Grants. While NRRO covers the expenses of these mentors, their time and talent are contributed.

In 2000, the guidelines for the Basic Grant require that either an audit or review be submitted with the Basic Grant Eligibility Application. NRRO's Special Assistance Grant funds are available to finance a first audit. For institutes with fewer than thirty-five members and less than $3 million in available assets, a well-prepared Statement of Financial Position will be accepted in lieu of an audit.

NRRO mentors can assist institutes in meeting the new reporting requirements. To begin, they can help an institute prepare for a first audit. For smaller institutes, mentors are available to aid in the preparation of their Statement of Financial Position. Mentors may also help in organizing financial accounting records in a way that facilitates planning for the future. If a mentor identifies that more extensive assistance is needed for an institute, NRRO's Supplemental Identified Need Grants may offer support.

NRRO is currently in the process of updating our mentoring program, and the response has been overwhelming. Fifty-two persons have volunteered to serve as mentors and as of this September, thirty-one institutes have requested mentors for the 2000 Basic Grant cycle. Our hope is to build a network of mentors across the country, so that relationships which begin as a response to the NRRO Basic Grant Eligibility requirements will expand into ongoing resources for smaller institutes and/or newer finance personnel.

Collaboration
Brother John T. Patzwall, FSC

Just before sitting down to see if there really were any 9/9/99 computer gremlins lurking in our central processing unit, I was handed a note from a religious community of women thanking me for taking the time to collaborate with them on a retirement related project. The second piece of mail was a request for a grant application for a collaborative project involving eight different religious institutes. A third envelope contained the consultants' report of an on-site visit for yet another cooperative health care project. When I finally powered up the old computer, I didn't find any problems. I did, however, access my e-mail and the very first message noted how well sixty Catholic organizations had worked together to make the Jubilee Justice Gathering in Los Angeles such a success.

Is it my imagination or is there a message in there somewhere that I need to write something about collaboration in this edition of the newsletter?

It is easy to do exactly that as I am more and more convinced that collaboration is the key to success as we endeavor to meet the retirement funding needs of our religious institutes of women and men. In previous newsletter editions, we have featured articles related to creative collaborative solutions to addressing various needs, such as skilled care for religious institutes' frail elderly members. Over the summer as part of the Supplementary Grant process, I had the opportunity to visit both Resurrection Life Center in Chicago and Our Lady of Wisdom Health Care Center under construction in Louisiana. These cooperative projects of multiple institutes, along with The Sarah Community in St. Louis, will certainly be national models for the Best Practices Program announced in our spring newsletter.

In addition, Sister Mary, Sister Andrée and I attended a meeting with representatives from multiple provinces of a large religious institute to assist them as they collaborate internally to aid the provinces with the greatest retirement challenges. Other national and international communities of women and men are beginning to undertake similar evaluations and mutual aid programs. We are ready to help them as necessary and appropriate.

The continued support of the bishops, the diocesan coordinators and religious leadership, as well as the generosity of the faithful, remains the best example of collaboration. As you gear up for this fall's national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious, whether as an organizer, promoter, or donor, be mindful that you are participating in one of the most successful programs ever undertaken by the Church in the United States. When preparing those envelopes, or more importantly putting your check or cash contribution in them, be sure that it does make a difference. Be certain as well that your support is appreciated and that the religious priests, brothers and sisters are not only grateful, but hard at work collaborating to move retirement issues from crisis to manageable concerns, all the while continually focused on their vital ministries of service and prayer.

By the way, wouldn't you know that our computer network server crashed on 9/10/99!

1999 Campaign Materials

1999 Retirement Fund for Religious Your contribution to the Retirement Fund for Religious can help ensure that religious institutes, whose unfunded retirement needs total $7 billion, can care adequately for thousands of elderly and infirm sisters, brothers, and order pirests. Please give generously to your parish collection. If you missed the parish collection, send your donation to: Retirement Fund for Religious Attention: Sister Mary Leahy, SP P.O. Box 73140, Dept. D Baltimore, MD 21273 www.nccbuscc.org/nrro

Calendar

November 15-18, 1999	USCC General Meeting, Washington, DC
November 17-20, 1999	NATRI Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
December 11-12, 1999	Retirement Fund for Religious National Collection
February 10-12, 2000	Commission on Religious Life and Ministry, Washington, DC
March 16-19, 2000	Legal Seminar, Louisville, KY
August 9-12, 2000	CMSM Assembly, New Orleans
August 17-21, 2000	LCWR Assembly, Albuquerque, NM
November 15-18, 2000	NATRI Conference, Memphis, TN

If you would like to make a bequest or restricted gift to the National Religious Retirement Office, the following information should be used:

To the United States Catholic Conference Incorporated, for the exclusive purpose of assisting Roman Catholic religious orders in the United States to provide for the retirement needs of their elderly members.


Please send changes in congregational leadership, as well as addresses, phone or e-mail, to NRRO c/o Monica Glover so that we can keep our records and mailing lists up to date. Thank You.

Email us at nrro@usccb.org
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