MassPACE to Host Virtual Conference to Highlight Strategies for Improving Elder Care, Celebrate 30 Years of PACE

Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services, Marylou Sudders, to join PACE Leaders and Frontline Workers in Speaking at Event

What:

MassPACE, the Massachusetts Association of the Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), today announced it will host the second annual MassPACE Conference virtually from October 28-29, 2020. The event will bring together key elder care leaders and state and national partners to collaborate on improving care
for the vulnerable elderly population in the state of Massachusetts.

The 2020 event will feature presentations on how PACE has pivoted to an at-home care model to protect elderly participants during COVID-19; strategies to drive long- lasting change to elder care; and how to partner with health and community organizations to improve the lives of older adults. Attendees will hear from PACE leaders, frontline workers, and state representatives as they discuss the biggest issues facing elder care, such as evaluating nursing home placement, addressing health disparities, and preventing avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations for those most at risk.

Who:

Marylou Sudders, MSW, ACSW, the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will deliver the welcome and keynote address. Since joining Governor Baker’s cabinet in January 2015, Sudders has led the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which represents 52% of the state’s
budget, and is comprised of 12 agencies, 2 state-operated Soldiers’ Homes and MassHealth, the state’s office of Medicaid. Sudders has advanced strategic policy priorities, including restructuring MassHealth into a population-based health coverage system, addressing the opioid epidemic, integrating physical and behavioral health care, and strengthening community-based services. Governor Baker appointed Sudders to lead the Massachusetts COVID-19 Command Center, a role she continues to hold, in addition to serving as Health and Human Services Secretary.

Adam Burrows, M.D., Medical Director for Upham’s PACE, the PACE organization of Upham’s Corner Health Center, will speak to the session “Thinking About Nursing Home Placement,” elaborating on critical factors to consider while evaluating nursing home placement versus at-home care and highlighting the use of his organization’s hybrid consumer-directed personal care worker program as a strategy for caring for participants at home. Dr. Burrows has been the Medical Director of Upham’s PACE since its inception in 1996 and has helped guide the program’s expansion to three PACE Centers throughout the city of Boston. He is a member of the Boston University Medical Center’s Geriatric Medicine faculty and just completed a two-year term as Chair of the National PACE Association’s Board of Directors.

Robert Schreiber, M.D., Vice President and Medical Director of Fallon Health’s Summit ElderCare program, will present the session “A Proactive Approach to Early Identification of Risk During the Pandemic and Beyond,” focused on how to leverage data to identify and intervene with at-risk patients to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations. Dr. Schreiber oversees medical care for Fallon’s PACE program, which is the sixth largest in the country and largest in New England. With more than 1,200 participants, Fallon has 5 PACE sites in Massachusetts and one in Western New York. Previously, Schreiber served as Medical Director of Evidence-based Programs at Hebrew SeniorLife and Medical Director of the Healthy Living Center of Excellence.

When:

Wednesday, October 28 – Thursday, October 29, 2020

Where:

The event will be held virtually. For more information, visit https://whova.com/portal/massp_202010

How:

To register for the event, visit https://whova.com/portal/registration/massp_202010

If you are a member of the media interested in complimentary access, please contact Kahler Buckley at kbuckley@ariamarketing.com

To learn more about MassPACE please visit masspace.net. Attendees looking to connect ahead of the conference can join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #MassPACEConference2020.