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Welcome to “Paying it Forward,” a monthly interview series made possible by Piedmont Health. In this series, we hear from the folks at Piedmont about the importance of community health centers – and why they chose a career in community health.
September is National PACE Month, recognizing PACE Senior Care – so this month, Aaron welcomes Landon Bailey, a staffer with Piedmont’s PACE Senior Care team.
“PACE stands for Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly,” Bailey says. “It’s personalized healthcare for seniors: we provide head-to-toe medical care, socialization, transportation, and home care, to keep seniors living safely at home.”
Bailey studied healthcare administration in college and spent some time with UNC Health after graduation, before finding his place at PACE.
“My grandmother really inspired me,” he says. “She had a lot of different care needs and a lot of different doctors, and all those doctors weren’t communicating with one another. So I knew I wanted to open up a one-stop shop type of place for seniors…and then the more I learned about PACE, the more I realized this is exactly what I wanted.”
Learn more about PACE at PiedmontHealthSeniorCare.org.
There are currently 11 PACE programs across the state. Piedmont Health is the only one with two locations, one in Burlington and one in Pittsboro – helping not just seniors, but also caregivers as well.
“The sigh of relief from caregivers is heartwarming,” Bailey says. “It feels impactful to us whenever we see (a) caregiver just take a sigh of relief, like ‘wow, these individuals are here working for me and for my family.'”
What does Bailey enjoy most about the job? “My favorite part is just the seniors in general,” he says. “I love hearing their stories and learning about their backgrounds, and just being there for them, and making sure they know their voice is heard and they feel empowered to take control of their healthcare, whether it’s the participant themselves or their caregiver who’s providing the care in the home. We really just want (them) to know that PACE has your back, and we’re going to make sure you’re getting the quality care that you need.”
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