CenterLight Healthcare PACE Celebrates Grand Opening of South Asian Alternative Care Setting in Jamaica, Queens
New Alternative Care Setting to provide more than 100 programs and activities per month designed especially for CenterLight Healthcare PACE participants within the South Asian community
Jamaica, Queens - December 13, 2023 – CenterLight Healthcare PACE announced the grand opening of its new South Asian Cultural Alternative Care Setting (ACS)* in Jamaica, Queens during an open-house event held on December 12. Attendees heard welcome remarks from CenterLight Healthcare PACE President/CEO Tara Buonocore-Rut and VP & Chief Strategy Officer Shaun Ruskin; toured the new facility; took part in cultural activities like dance; and dined on traditional South Asian menu offerings.
The new Alternative Care Setting (ACS), located at 97-35 Allendale St., is designed to meet the social and cultural needs of South Asian seniors in the community who participate with CenterLight Healthcare PACE, a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, serving adults 55+.
“We saw a distinct need to offer culturally sensitive services to the South Asian population and the opening of the new South Asian Cultural Center will offer our CenterLight PACE participants an opportunity to share in activities, meals and just be together and socialize,” said Tara Buonocore-Rut, President and CEO of CenterLight Healthcare PACE. “The addition of this Alternative Care Setting (ACS) will help us achieve our goal to improve the overall health and well-being of our participants who continue to live independently at home and in their communities.”
The facility will provide more than 100 programs and activities per month, including cultural celebrations such as Holi, Diwali, and Eid. Participants will have access to dedicated prayer, meditation, and Wudu rooms, as well as daily menu offerings featuring traditional South Asian food. Daily activities will include yoga, meditation, canvas painting, cooking classes, jewelry making, crafts, herbal teatime, sewing, crocheting, and English as a second language classes.
“Physicians usually talk about medications, doctor visits and tests but social interaction is so important for overall health and well-being. Our senior participants need a sense of purpose and a sense of being. And that’s what our centers are all about,” said CenterLight Healthcare PACE Chief Medical Officer Ziad Farah, MD. “This Alternative Care Setting caters to the diverse needs of the South Asian community.”
The new CenterLight Healthcare PACE South Asian Cultural Center will initially be open from 8am to 5pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with a Monday through Friday schedule offering in the future.
About CenterLight Healthcare PACE
CenterLight Healthcare PACE, a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, serves adults 55+ throughout New York City, Westchester, Nassau, and Western Suffolk Counties. Designed for those with Medicare and/or Medicaid, the program empowers older adults to continue to live independently at home and in their communities. CenterLight’s PACE program is the largest nonprofit PACE in the country and operates 11 PACE centers and one Alternative Care Setting where participants can receive medical and personal care, rehabilitation, social interaction, meals, prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications, transportation and recreational activities. Providing culturally sensitive care to thousands of New Yorkers daily, the staff speaks over 25 languages and dialects. CenterLight’s dedicated interdisciplinary team (IDT) includes, but is not limited to, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, recreational therapists, and other professionals who work together to provide care as unique as the diverse participants enrolled in the plan. Learn more at www.centerlighthealthcare.org.
*About Alternative Care Settings
PACE Centers provide primary care, including physician and nursing services; social services; restorative therapies, including physical therapy and occupational therapy; personal care and supportive services; nutritional services; nutritional counseling; recreational therapy and meals.
**CenterLight PACE also has Alternative Care Settings, which are an option for participants who prefer a smaller, more intimate setting to receive on-site socialization, social services, personal care services, therapeutic recreation and meals. Other center-based services, such as primary care physician services, nursing and rehabilitation are offered at our PACE Centers.
Media contact:
FischTank PR for CenterLight Healthcare PACE
centerlight@fischtankpr.com
marketingcommunication@centerlight.org