The 2025 Environments for Aging Conference + Expo, heads to Lexington, Ky., April 26-29, bringing three days of keynote and educational sessions for attendees.
Environments for Aging is previewing some of the upcoming educational sessions in a series of Q+As with speakers, sharing what they plan to discuss and key takeaways they’ll offer attendees.
Session: “Designing Welcoming PACE Facilities: Integrating Hospitality Trends Into Senior Healthcare Environments”
Tuesday, April 29, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Speakers: Amy Tobia, principal, FS Design Group (San Diego); Maria Zamora, president and CEO, Center for Elders’ Independence (Oakland, Calif.)
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) facilities help older adults who wish to remain home by providing on-site programs for medical, social, and other care services. They can include medical, dental, and eye care; rehabilitation; nutrition; a gym; and recreational and social activities, helping seniors to make social connections and stay active and healthy.
To support these facilities, project teams are turning to hospitality design to help ensure PACE facilities deliver welcoming, nurturing environments where seniors want to spend time and that enhance their well-being.
Marcy Browe Photography courtesy of FS Design Group
Environments for Aging: How have the role and operation of PACE facilities evolved over the past five years?
Amy Tobia: The concept of PACE originated 30 years ago. Now, 163 PACE organizations exist in 32 states.
Over time, operators figured out the balance between healthcare and hospitality to include in the facilities; refined the financial model that would allow reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid; and became adept at working with the newly created licensing entities overseeing PACE facilities.
Early on, PACE facilities were often designed as an extension of a healthcare clinic and were branded to that specific organization. Now, successful operators want their PACE facilities to align with the communities they serve.
A well-designed PACE center is a place for seniors to not only receive medical care and services, but to make friends and have fun. Staying socially active is a key element in the foundation of the PACE program.
By designing PACE facilities to be an extension of the surrounding community and a reflection of the cultures represented by the participants, project teams can support the health and wellness goals of the PACE program.
EFA: How have these changes impacted design strategies?
Tobia: Participant health diversity is changing for PACE facilities. The range of physical abilities has become broader, partly due to the age range of the baby boom generation as well as to increasing longevity, so facilities need to be even more flexible.
Our approach is to design a place to belong and make friends that also has a complete medical clinic. Safety and wellness will always be at the forefront; however, it can’t be had at the expense of the design experience.
It’s about creating an engaging space where people want to socialize. A key challenge for this is acoustics. To address this, we have designed a variety of acoustic art solutions that reduce noise levels and enhance the design.
These solutions include decorative wall panels that absorb sound and enhance the visual appeal of the space, acoustical baffles that look like framed art prints but are actually absorbing sound, upgraded ceiling systems that reduce the transfer of sound, and light fixtures that are engineered to quiet vocal noise.
EFA: How can design balance the healthcare requirements of a clinic with the needs of seniors?
Tobia: Materials used to design a medical space must be durable and easy to clean. Those who visit these offices and facilities may have mobility issues, with many using walkers and wheelchairs, so there must be plenty of space to maneuver. Signage must make it easy for those with vision or cognitive issues to find their way.
Attention to the location of the PACE facility is also necessary, as operators need to find a property near their participant base. The site should have adequate parking for patrons and staff, as well as van parking as most of the PACE programs provide transportation to and from the site for their participants and therefore house a fleet of vehicles as well as the required staff parking.
The right location will also have adequate first-floor square footage to house both a full medical clinic and PACE day center, which requires a large room for several hundred participating seniors to connect and play games, exercise, share meals and interact with other participants. When it is time for their medical appointments or physical therapy, staff will escort them to the clinic.
EFA: What’s one takeaway you hope attendees learn from your session?
Tobia: A PACE facility is meant to take care of the whole person, supporting participants emotionally and physically.
People are understanding more and more about how the built environment can positively affect how we live longer, happier, healthier lives. The spaces where we spend time can work for us, enriching our lives and possibly extending our lifespans.
Find updates and additional information on the 2025 EFA Conference + Expo here.
