Islamic Medical Association surprise to front-line staff keeping seniors safe at home

Macksood Aftab, DO, and Mouaz Sbei, MD, joined PACE Medical Director, Sajid Chaudhry, MD, on 5/28 to present grocery gift cards to Genesys PACE leaders.  These 85 cards were distributed to PACE staff working to provide needed services to over 150 PACE Participants throughout Genesee County. 

PACE stands for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.  PACE is an option for those "55 or better" who struggle to live independently. These struggles may be due to physical, memory or unstable health challenges. PACE assesses what is needed, then provides the wrap-around, personalized care and oversight they need to remain in the community. After their presentation, the physicians toured the center and were very impressed with the PACE model and operations.

Providing such care is not easy under normal circumstances, yet with COVID-19, the stakes are so high for PACE with chronic, long-term illness.  Genesys PACE has many health care heroes right now, delivering meals, medication, medical care and needed services to participant homes. Staff have created seven separate car parades to drive-by participant homes to encourage, brighten their days, deliver activity packages and share supplies.

The Islamic Medical Association (IMA) launched a campaign to reach out to those affected by the current pandemic.  These outreach efforts helped to source personal protective equipment (PPE), overnight accommodations for healthcare workers and grocery gift cards. All efforts aim to reach front-line workers, our health care heroes.

PACE provides services in homes, throughout their network and at the PACE center.  With COVID-19, this wrap-around care was redirected to participants’ homes since mid-March. Dr. Macksood commended Genesys PACE staff for providing front-line care in the homes of our county’s most vulnerable older adults. He recognized, “staff reaching out to homes are most at risk.”

IMA’s generosity has reached inside each of the region’s three major hospitals. At Genesys PACE, we are grateful for IMA’s kindness and appreciation extending beyond hospitals’ walls and into the hands of PACE staff.  PACE Health care heroes are working to keep seniors safe inside their homes and out of hospitals and nursing homes.