The country’s original Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (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. During the visit, covered in a television news segment and article by local station KTVU Fox 2, Administrator Oz said the program is impressive: “It’s a different way of thinking about how you can age in America.”

On Lok CEO Grace Li said that by explaining the PACE programs, which are now in place in nearly 3 dozen states, to the CMS chief, she hopes PACE “can grow to help more seniors live longer, healthier and happier lives.”