Elyria senior care facility to open in late spring

A facility dedicated to meeting the needs of Lorain County seniors is on pace to open its doors in mid May, a representative said. In early 2024, the McGregor Foundation of East Cleveland announced it would expand its PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) into Lorain County with a dedicated facility that would provide a nursing home level of medical and social care while allowing residents to remain in their homes. The program has been run out of the Wesleyan Village senior living facility in Elyria since the summer, but McGregor Chief Marketing Officer Lee Ann O'Brien told The Chronicle-Telegram on Tuesday that the organization would open its standalone PACE facility in May. The opening will need to be approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees PACE services. "We have to get approval from CMS, of course. And then also we have to get our residency permit to be able to accept participants in the building. We're kind of counting on before Memorial Day for sure," O'Brien said. PACE is a statewide program that provides medical and social services to residents 55 years of age or older, require a nursing home level of care as determined by Medicare and Medicaid Services and live in an approved county. The foundation operates a PACE program in Cuyahoga County and is expanding into Lorain and Summit counties. Once complete, the McGregor facility at Midway Boulevard and Leona Street will be where Lorain County PACE participants go for medical treatment and social services. "I'm thrilled that this is in Elyria; we obviously have a good-sized senior population, but it's good for the county," Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker said. "It's in a great location, they can get folks from anywhere in the county there. It's a big deal and a great thing for Elyria, and it's gonna be a big asset for Lorain County." O'Brien said McGregor will have shuttles to transport people from their doors to the PACE facility. "Transportation services, I understand, are a bit of a challenge sometimes for the Lorain County area because it's a little bit more remote than, you know, Cuyahoga County, for example," O'Brien said. "So having that transportation service that the PACE program offers to bring individuals who want to remain in their homes longer but be able to get them and transport them to the adult day health center, which they have a choice of coming one day a week or five days a week." Just over a year after the plan to expand to Lorain County was announced, most of the work left to do on the building is on the interior. There weren't many delays because of the harsh weather, McGregor said. Nature did briefly delay the project in another way. Some tree removal for the project was delayed when it was discovered that endangered bats nested in trees on the property but otherwise construction was smooth, O'Brien said. "You just never know what you're gonna encounter," she said. Operating out of Wesleyan Village, McGregor has already started to accept participants into the PACE system, enrolling seniors in activities and health services as well as providing them with hot meals delivered by the Neighborhood Alliance. "We do have people already enrolling in the program that are coming to the center daily and enjoying the activities and everything," O'Brien said. "So they think it's a pretty nice space now. And we all kind of went, well wait until you see what the new building looks like." The new PACE facility will feature two main sections; one is a larger space for all program participants and another will be designed to house and accommodate people in the program who have memory care or other cognitive needs. In addition to operating the PACE service in Lorain County, O'Brien said that McGregor also provides grants and other funding to local organizations and nonprofits. She said the foundation is currently exploring possible grant recipients in Lorain County. "We're excited that this project is coming here," Brubaker said. "I knew that they had pushed it (the opening) back to May, but we are looking forward to getting them open, getting those services provided and bringing jobs to the area." Last year, McGregor also announced plans to partner with CHN Housing Partners to build a 70-unit senior-living apartment building next to the PACE facility. Laura Boustani, CHN vice president of external affairs, said that the housing portion of the project is yet to begin. Residents can contact McGregor to check if they are eligible and sign up to participate in PACE by calling (888) 895-7223 or visiting mcgregorpace.org. Contact Owen MacMillan at omacmillan@chroniclet.com.