This Forum will bring together three experts in the field of aging to discuss the future of population health through the lens of the Living Independently for Elders (LIFE) Program. The LIFE Program, also nationally known as the Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), is a comprehensive program that is committed to keeping low-income seniors who are 55 and older as independent as possible, for as long as possible, in the place they call home by providing high quality healthcare with supportive services. 

With four decades under its belt, the LIFE Program has been proven to effectively serve the needs of dual eligible seniors in their own homes and communities, instead of institutions. It is a Medicare program that enables seniors to receive the care they need in the community as an alternative to nursing home placement through the support of a dedicated team of professionals who coordinate every aspect of their care. 

Dr. Mary Naylor, Dr. Luz Ramos-Bonner, and Pam Mammarella will examine where the LIFE Program fits into the implementation of Community HealthChoices (CHC), the commonwealth’s managed long-term services and supports initiative to care for all dual eligible seniors in PA. 

Meet the Presenters:

Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN is the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and Director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. For more than two decades, Dr. Naylor has led a multidisciplinary team of clinical scholars and health services researchers in generating and translating knowledge designed to enhance the care and outcomes of chronically ill older adults and their caregivers.

Pam Mammarella serves as vice president of marketing & government affairs for NewCourtland Senior Services, where she is responsible for corporate communications, marketing, community outreach, public and government relations, strategic planning, as well as operations for the Network’s senior centers. 

Luz S. Ramos-Bonner, MD, FACP, AGSF, CMD serves as the Medical Director for the NewCourtland Primary Care Practice.  She is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American Geriatric Society, and was previously was the medical director of the LIFE program in Trenton, NJ, and a primary care physician and geriatrician with LifeCare Physicians of Bordentown (NJ) and the Sister Hyacintha Program for the Homebound.