The National PACE Association created model accreditation standards and performance measures for the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), a comprehensive service and financing model of long-term care for the frail elderly. It also worked to establish a national accreditation process for PACE sites.

The PACE model provides team-managed care that integrates acute and long-term health services in both inpatient and outpatient settings for seriously impaired elderly people.

Key Results

• With help from site representatives and national experts, the National PACE Association developed accreditation standards in nine areas and performance measures in 33 areas for PACE sites to use in quality improvement.
• NPA also developed a process for accreditation and an instrument to help site evaluators assess compliance with the standards.
• Although it did not establish an accreditation process, it developed the format for an accreditation pilot study that would include collaboration with an accrediting organization.
• The federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) [whose name changed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)] went on to develop regulations for PACE using the standards the association developed as a resource.

Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported the project with a $159,334 grant from November 1995 to December 1997. At the time the grant was awarded, there were 11 PACE sites operating, and Congress was considering legislation (enacted in August 1997) to increase the number of PACE sites significantly.