Local Couple Celebrates 72nd Wedding Anniversary with Friends and Family at CenterLight PACE
White Plains, NY – September 27, 2024 – Family, friends and CenterLight Healthcare PACE staff came together to celebrate the 72nd wedding anniversary of PACE participants Raphael (99) and Lorenza (96) Altamirano.
The Altamiranos’ anniversary was celebrated with traditional Latin music, delicious food, cake, and desserts. The Day Health Center at our Westchester PACE site was beautifully adorned with flowers and decorations, including centerpieces and party favors made by their fellow participants, to honor this amazing milestone.
Raphael and Lorenza’s love story began in Machala, Ecuador in 1951 at a dance. It was love at first sight! “I felt I was going to die, if I didn’t unite with you,” said Raphael during the celebration. A year later on September 15, 1952, the couple said, “I do.” Their journey includes venturing to America with their seven children in 1977. Decades later, the couple are still dedicated to each other and to their family.
Today, the couple attends the CenterLight Westchester PACE site twice a week and everyone gets to witness their love for each other. “We can see how he takes care of her and how she worries for him. They are very united,” said friend and fellow participant Bella. “I’m just so happy and proud to celebrate their love. We always say in the Day Health Center we’re a family,” said Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Arianna Corretjer.
The Altamiranos expressed gratitude for everyone present. “My parents were very emotional, and I was even more so because to pay this tribute to my parents is priceless,” said Letty, the couple’s daughter.
Celebrating milestones like these serve as a reminder that CenterLight Healthcare PACE truly does become our participants’ home away from home.
About CenterLight Healthcare:
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 one of the largest nonprofit PACE programs in the country and operates 11 PACE centers and one Alternative Care Setting (ACS) where participants can receive on-site socialization, social and personal care services, therapeutic recreation, meals, and transportation. Our PACE centers also offer medical services, rehabilitation, prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications to thousands of New Yorkers by an interdisciplinary team (IDT) of 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.
Media contact:
Ann Healey, Marketing & Brand Manager
marketingcommunication@centerlight.org I 347-594-4412