State Announces Expansion of LIFE Program

The PA Department of Aging recently announced that the Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE) program will be expanding to 14 new counties over the next 18 months. Under the expansion, new LIFE programs will be established in Bradford, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Fulton, Jefferson, Monroe, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wayne counties.

The LIFE program, which is known nationally as the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), is a long-term care program that provides integrated physical health as well as communitybased supports for seniors 55 and older who require a nursing facility level of care. Participants must live in an area served by a LIFE program, must be able to be safely served in the community, and must also meet financial eligibility requirements. The program allows seniors to live more independently by providing personal care and other services in their own homes and communities, rather than in nursing homes.

The LIFE Program was implemented in Pennsylvania in 1998 and currently serves nearly 7,500 seniors across 39 counties. The expansion of the LIFE Program will provide an additional option for long -term care to seniors in 14 predominantly rural counties.

Carbon, Monroe, Susquehanna, Wayne and Centre counties will be served by LIFE Geisinger, which currently serves nine other counties. LIFE Northwestern Pennsylvania, which already covers 7 other counties, will serve Clearfield, Jefferson, Elk, and Cameron counties. Bradford, Potter, Sullivan, Tioga, and Fulton counties will be covered by Community Life.

For more information on the LIFE program, visit http://dhs.pa.gov/citizens/life/.