The Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center, part of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, also known as PACE, is a newly opened facility in Greenwood focused on providing older adults with all-encompassing care. The public can learn more about the center during a special open house from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Ryan Trares | Daily Journal
Inside the new location of the Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center, older adults can find everything they need to care for their health.
Exercise bikes, balance bars and massage tables fill a spacious fitness area. A primary care clinic is available in case seniors need to meet with a physician for medical conditions. Camaraderie and friendship is forged with daily activities, music, games and more inside a spacious day center.
All of it is designed to help seniors maintain their independence as they age.
“Most places only know of a nursing home as a discharge plan if they deem someone unsafe in their home. However, we forget that those are the homes they’ve raised their families in and lived in for years and worked really hard to pay for,” said Kace Escobedo, manager of the center. “It’s more important, and there are ways of providing that safety net and reducing the risks of being at home.”
The Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center has moved to a new Greenwood facility, where older adults will receive all-encompassing care. The new 13,500-square-foot location was created to meet the growing needs of the Indianapolis region and offer a more centralized location within the designated service area.
Designers worked with Franciscan officials to create a layout that is more conducive to the all-inclusive services the program offers to its participants.
“It’s reassuring that we are on a growth path to service more seniors. We’re more centrally located and more easily accessible, and there’s much less time in terms of transporting individuals,” Escobedo said. “There’s a sense of safety and security in knowing we’re still here and have the space to openly welcome more people.”
The community is invited to learn more about the new center during a special open-house event on Thursday. Tours of the facility, located at 1040 Sierra Drive, Suite 600 in Greenwood, will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Refreshments will be available.
“It will be nice for our team to be here and welcome the community to showcase what we do here,” Escobedo said.
The Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center is part of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, also known as PACE. As a community-based healthcare program created for people 55 or older, it gives patients who are eligible for nursing-home-level care the option to receive their care in their own familiar surroundings.
Through the program, older adults can live as independently as possible by taking advantage of all-inclusive services. A primary health clinic offers medical care if needed, while also featuring access to specialists in cardiology, nephrology, ophthalmology, dermatology, orthopedics, surgery, podiatry and more.
Participants can find physical, occupational and speech therapy to recover abilities they have lost. A clinical dietitian helps maintain their nutrition, while a home care option is available for people who cannot get to the center.
“It’s a one-stop shop to provide all of the services for keeping seniors safe at home,” Escobedo said.
In addition to serving patients’ unique medical needs, staff members also help people with the social, emotional and practical challenges that seniors often face. The adult day health program can provide group exercise, contests, activities such as bingo and board games, and access to music, painting and more. A hot lunch is available daily.
Through interactions with peers, stimulating activities and other supportive services, participants will enjoy a better quality of life, Escobedo said.
“It’s outside-the-box thinking and an alternative service to what is commonly known to be out there in terms of resources,” Escobedo said.
When it opened its doors in January 2015, the Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center in Indianapolis was the first PACE center in the state of Indiana. Since then, the program has expanded to three additional Franciscan sites across the state — Dyer, Lafayette and Michigan City.
The Indianapolis staff has helped not only launch those PACE centers, but offered guidance as other similar centers have opened.
“We’ve really be educating the newer PACE centers that have been coming. They seek us out and want to learn what we’ve been through,” Escobedo said.
The Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center had previously been located in Franklin Township, but that location was often difficult to get to for many of the center’s participants, Escobedo said. Leaders started searching for a more centralized center in 2020, though the pandemic delayed the project onset until July 2023.
Construction was completed in April.
“We’ve been really passionately working on it. We outgrew our previous space, which was a really good problem to have, but we needed more functional space,” Escobedo said.
The new center, and the open house to show it off, is cause for celebration.
“It’s very special. This has been a work-in-progress for a very long time. We didn’t know when it was going to take place, so this is important to us because we are such a different type of program,” Escobedo said.
IF YOU GO
Franciscan Senior Health & Wellness Center open house
What: A chance for the community to learn more about the new location of the center, part of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly or PACE. Tours of the facility and refreshments will be available.
When: 2 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: 1040 Sierra Drive, Suite 600, Greenwood
More information: franciscanhealth.org/conditions-and-services/primary-care/geriatric-medicine/franciscan-senior-health-and-wellness
