WelbeHealth Opens Bay Area PACE Center

SAN JOSE, California—The physician-led senior health services provider WelbeHealth, in partnership with Northern California-based health care system Sutter Health, announced the opening of a new Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center in San Jose. The new center will provide essential health care and wrap-around services to diverse low-income older adults. WelbeHealth San Jose is now enrolling new participants, with services set to begin Jan. 1, 2024.

“We are excited to work with our Sutter Health partners to serve the most vulnerable seniors with better quality and compassion in the San Jose area,” said Si France, MD, CEO at WelbeHealth. “Through this expansion, we are ensuring that matriarchs and patriarchs can age in place and thrive in their communities.”

Sutter Health is one of the largest health systems serving Northern California’s Medi-Cal eligible population and has partnered with WelbeHealth to improve healthcare for underserved seniors.

“WelbeHealth provides nursing-home eligible seniors with the wrap-around services they need to remain safely at home in our communities,” said Kevin Cook, Greater Silicon Valley Market President at Sutter Health. “San Jose is home to a rapidly growing aging population that will benefit from greater access to PACE.”

More than 4,000 PACE-eligible seniors reside within 15 miles of the San Jose location, and the population of these seniors is anticipated to increase. The California Department of Aging forecasts that Santa Clara County’s senior population will surge by more than 200% by 2060, while Alameda County’s senior population is expected to increase by 150% by the same year.

“Many seniors in San Jose have been left out of the region’s broader economic growth,” said Vaneesh Soni, MD, Chief Growth Officer at WelbeHealth. “It’s difficult for low-income older adults to make ends meet and get the care they need amidst high rent, home care labor shortages and stretched family caregivers. WelbeHealth and Sutter Health are committed to delivering the PACE model, ensuring vulnerable seniors are not left behind.”

PACE is a proven, high-quality, cost-effective solution to address the care gaps left by the underfunded and patchwork system for long-term care in San Jose and across the United States by delivering comprehensive health and supportive services for seniors. The price for long-term care is expected to reach half a trillion dollars a year by 2030, yet the current infrastructure cannot support this growth and the United States lags behind most other wealthy countries in long-term care investment. PACE is one obvious solution because it delivers better health outcomes at a lower cost.

WelbeHealth is committed to addressing the long-term healthcare crisis for low-income seniors through PACE expansion. In addition to San Jose, WelbeHealth operates programs across California, including Modesto, Stockton, Fresno, Pasadena, Long Beach, North Hollywood and Rosemead. All locations deliver fully integrated care, allowing frail seniors to age in place with the support of interdisciplinary teams, including doctors and nurses, physical therapists, homecare aides and social workers. Wrap-around support like meals, social activities and transportation address social determinants of health.