DENVER – March 5, 2009 – Altitude Edge Consultants, a senior health care consulting firm, has been selected by two healthcare organizations in New Jersey to initiate PACE programs. Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark will call their PACE program LIFE Saint Michael, and Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey in Jersey City will call theirs Lutheran Senior Healthcare. PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) programs are Medicare and Medicaid-certified services that involve a team approach to caring for a senior living at home in the community. LIFE (Living Independently for Elders) follows the national PACE Model.

As PACE providers, Saint Michael’s Medical LIFE Center and Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey would provide an integrated network of preventive and supportive care for seniors so they can remain healthy and in the least restrictive environment. PACE is cost- effective for funding sources and good for the well being of the elderly participant.

Specifically, for each organization, Altitude Edge Consultants will complete a study of feasibility for a PACE program, develop a business plan, prepare and submit the PACE provider application, and provide PACE program development support and ongoing operational support for the individual programs when they open.

Saint Michael’s Medical Center is a member of Catholic Health East, a Catholic health system with facilities in 11 eastern states. Established by the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor in 1867, Saint Michael’s Medical Center is a 357-bed regional tertiary-care, teaching, and research center in the heart of Newark’s business and educational district. The Saint Michael’s Medical Center Campus is home to the Heart and Vascular Institute, The Regional Cancer Center and The Connie Dwyer Breast Center.

Begun as an orphanage in 1904, Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey is a nonprofit housing development organization and one of the largest affordable housing providers in New Jersey, serving more than 1,300 families, seniors and special needs residents across the state. The organization provides various levels of continuing care to seniors, including long-term skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation, as well as independent and assisted living.

Altitude Edge Consultants

Altitude Edge Consultants is a unique firm that approaches the future of health care by combining solid strategic analysis and traditional tactics with ideas that help organizations’ reach their peak performance. Altitude Edge helps forward-thinking organizations that support seniors with housing or health care services, including PACE, adult day health centers, retirement communities, assisted or independent living operators, transportation providers and others.

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For Immediate Release: March 5, 2009
Contact: David Reyes, 303-748-6762