WELCOME TO SENIOR COMMUNITY CARE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina is a comprehensive health care program for seniors living in Wake, Durham and select zip codes in Granville counties and is a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, also called PACE.
Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina is for:
- Seniors who want to live at home but need support.
- Caregivers caring for elders living at home.
- Health professionals who want to help elders living at home remain at home.
As a PACE Provider, Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina helps people live independently at home with a high quality of life. Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina and PACE provide health care in the home and community to older adults who would otherwise live in nursing homes.
Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina
A PACE participant receives comprehensive care for their health and social needs through the program, coordinated by a multidisciplinary care team. Services can include primary and specialty medical care, prescription medications, adult day services, home care services, mental health and social services, skilled therapies if needed, and nursing home and hospital care. Participants require a nursing level of care and are able to live safely in the community with the help of supportive services.
Watch this video to learn more.
Our Team
Toni Hively
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Toni Hively is the Executive Director of VOA’s Senior CommUnity of NC PACE Program. Toni has over 25 years of experience in community services’ leadership and operations. She has over 9 years of PACE executive leadership experience. Toni has been with SCCNC for almost 3 years. Prior to coming to NC, Toni was the Executive Director of a large PACE program outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to that, she worked with the Jewish Association on Aging Agency as the Director of Outpatient and Clinical services where she provided oversight for the skilled nursing facility rehab services, hospice, homecare, adult day services, comprehensive outpatient rehab facility, and the meals on wheels program. Before her administrative leadership experiences, she practiced as a speech-language pathologist in variety of settings including hospitals, home health care and skilled nursing facilities. She earned a Master’s degree in Speech Pathology as well as a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (Healthcare Track).
Jane Venick
CENTER DIRECTOR, WAKE COUNTY
Jane has worked at VOANS: Senior CommUnity Care of NC in Durham, NC for the past 8 years. Previously, she worked in a home and community based services program for 5 years. Jane received her MSW from UNC-Charlotte and has a BS in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is married with two daughters, ages 3 and 4. During her time at SCCNC, she has seen the program grow from approval of our three way agreement to opening our doors to our first 18 participants to serving approximately 200 participants today. Jane was hired a social worker and promoted to Social Services Manager in 2016. She accepted the role of Center Director, Wake County in 2020. She facilitated our transition from contracting end of life services to bringing palliative care and end of life care (PC/EOL) services in-house and continues to provide training to the team.
Chuck DeGroat
CENTER DIRECTOR, DURHAM COUNTY
Prior to becoming the Durham County Center Director, Rev. Chuck DeGroat served as the first Chaplain for Senior CommUnity Care of NC. During his 3 ½ years in that position, Chuck assisted in developing the PACE program’s End-Of-Life Care program to provide the services & support so participants could choose to die with dignity at home in familiar surroundings with family & friends gathered around. Rev. DeGroat developed & lead the spiritual program for PACE, providing pastoral care, counsel & Biblical instruction. Chuck received a BA at Lebanon Valley College & his MDiv from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before moving to NC, he pastored in upstate NY & PA, serving as a denominational leader for NY State, & now brings his leadership experience to the Durham PACE team. Chuck enjoys kayaking, puzzles, chess & Sudoku. Chuck & his wife, Cindy, enjoy biking, a trip to the beach, a good movie, eating out with friends, fall & the North Carolina blue skies, but above all, they love spending time with their 4 children & 4 grandchildren. Chuck’s passion for family fits well within the PACE framework to help people remain in their homes with their family around for support.
Dr. Gregory Bugaj
MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Dr. Bugaj’s passion is primary care for older adults with complex health problems. He loves working with people and their families toward better health, function, and quality of life. Healing is definitely a team sport and Dr. Bugaj feels privileged to be a part of the care team here at PACE.
Undergraduate Education: B.A. in Biology, University of Rochester
Medical Education: State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine, University of California at San Francisco
Fellowship: Geriatric Medicine, University of California at San Francisco
Medical Certifications: Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Certified Medicine Director
Memberships: Society for Post-Acute and Long Term Care Medicine
Lucinda Smith
NURSE PRACTITIONER
Lucinda Smith, MSN, AGPCNP-C, is a PACE Nurse Practitioner. She received an undergraduate degree in Health Occupations Education from the University of Southern Indiana, and a nursing (RN) diploma from the Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Evansville, Indiana. Cindy graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2013 and has worked as a nurse practitioner in both inpatient and outpatient settings primarily in Neurology and Primary Care. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Cindy worked as a registered nurse for 29 years in a variety of practice settings. She lives in Raleigh with her husband of 34 years and has two grown sons.
Todd H. McCauley
SENIOR COMMUNITY CARE PACE CHAPLIN
Todd H. McCauley is the Senior CommUnity Care PACE Chaplain that provides for the spiritual health of our participants. Spiritual care services can include Prayer, Biblical education, Biblical counseling, Grief support, Encouragement, Coordination of local church involvement, End-of-life care, Bereavement care, and Facilitation of memorial services for deceased participants.
Senior CommUnity Care PACE recognizes that spirituality and faith is an important aspect of a person’s life. Unfortunately, many older adults in the community have difficulty obtaining transportation to their local church and their spiritual care is set aside. Because Senior CommUnity Care PACE provides care for the whole person, non-denominational Chapel services are performed in the Day Center for those who wish to attend.
PACE Chapel services are facilitated by the Chaplain and includes a time for the singing of hymns, praise songs and Biblical instruction. The Chaplain is a member of the Senior CommUnity Care PACE End-of-Life Care team who meet regularly to report and address the needs of participants who are at the end of their life. The Chaplain can provide home visits and phone calls offering spiritual care to the participant and family.
FAQS
PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) delivers all needed medical and supportive services. The program provides the entire spectrum of care and services to seniors with chronic care needs while maintaining their independence in their homes for as long as possible.
The PACE model of care can be traced to the early 1970s. The Chinatown-North Beach community of San Francisco saw the pressing needs of families whose elders had immigrated from Italy, China and the Philippines for long-term care services. On Lok Senior Health Services, a nonprofit corporation, was the first to create a community-based system of care in San Francisco.
There are over 100 PACE providers like Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina nationwide.
The average PACE program participant is 77 years old, has 7.9 medical conditions and is limited in roughly three activities of daily living. Despite a high level of care needs, more than 90 percent of PACE participants are able to continue to live in the community. (Source: www.npaonline.org) *By clicking this link you will be leaving the Senior Community Care of NC Website.
PACE serves people who are age 55 or older. They must be certified by their state to need nursing home care. They must also be able to live safely in the community at the time of enrollment and live in a PACE service area.
Please visit our PACE Center in Durham to inquire about eligibility, services and becoming a participant. For our location, please see our Services section. You can also call our PACE marketing director at 919.425.3050.
Yes. If a person meets the income and assets limits to qualify for Medicaid, the program pays for a portion of the monthly PACE premium. Medicare pays for the rest. If a person does not qualify for Medicaid, he or she is responsible for the portion of the monthly premium Medicaid would pay. PACE staff can help determine a person’s Medicaid eligibility.
Yes. We provide transportation to and from the PACE Center. Not only is transportation provided between the participant’s home and the Center, but also to important medical appointments and other activities.
No. The average participant attends the Center about three days a week.
We offer all heath care related services based on individualized needs, allowing the participant ability to continue living in the community, cost savings and much more. For a complete list of services that Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina provides, please visit our Services section.
Yes. All prescription and over-the-counter drugs deemed necessary by the PACE care team are covered by Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina.
Not at this time. When a person enrolls in Senior CommUnity Care of North Carolina, he or she is assigned a primary care physician who is part of a care team skilled in treating seniors. This primary care physician works with the team to coordinate all services a participant receives.
We support your family members and other caregivers with training, support groups and respite care. This helps families keep their loved ones in the community.
A participant is free to dis-enroll from our program and resume their benefits in the traditional Medicare and Medicaid programs at any time.
You can volunteer at our PACE Health Center. Contact us at 919.425.3000 for details.
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