The country’s original PACE program, On Lok in San Francisco, CA, hosted Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on May 6. This long-time LeadingAge member, which pioneered the PACE model in the 1980s, welcomed Oz and highlighted, as stated in its Facebook post, “the continuum of services On Lok offers to seniors—from falls prevention, nutrition, and fitness programs … to transportation, homecare, and long-term care services integrated with medical services.” Oz toured the PACE Center and a separate On Lok adult day center, while meeting with participants.

The visit was highlighted in a television news segment and article by local station KTVU Fox 2, which also quoted On Lok CEO Grace Li, who said she hopes that by highlighting PACE to the new CMS administrator, the program, which is largely funded through Medicaid and Medicare, “can grow to help more seniors live longer, healthier and happier lives.”