LYNN — Element Care cut the ribbon for its newest Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) site, the Magnolia A. Contreras Day Center, on Thursday.
The center is named in honor of Magnolia Contreras, a Lynn local and the vice president of community health at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who has done a lot of work for the community.
The former CEO of Element Care, Bob Wakefield, was the first speaker and introduced the program.
“Element Care has been around since 1995, and next year will be our 30th anniversary. We’ve been a PACE program since then, and for 20 years, we’ve also been a Senior Care Options program,” said Wakefield, who retired earlier this year. “Combined, Element Care serves over 3,000 individuals with the mission of keeping people in their homes and communities and as safe and as comfortable as they possibly can be.”
Wakefield believes that Element Care is the gold standard of healthcare and that the staff also provides the gold standard to patients.
2Life Communities President Lizbeth Heyer, who is partnering with Element Care, also spoke about the importance of this center and the bringing together of housing and healthcare.
“We will have housing that’s affordable to people. We will have site-based healthcare and home care, as well as engaging programs and services,” Heyer said.
She also said that not only will this be available to the residents at the center, but also to others in the Lynn community.
Jennifer Maynard, Executive Director of MassPace, also spoke about the company’s values and the importance of its mission.
“It’s about community, it’s about partnerships, it’s about giving older adults what they deserve, and that’s living with dignity and respect for as long as they can in the setting of their choosing,” Maynard said.
Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson, State Sen. Brendan Crighton, and State Rep. Donald Wong spoke on why the center would be a great addition to the city and gave Doug Thompson, Element Care’s new CEO, official citations in honor of the grand opening.
Wakefield then introduced Joseph Lee, a participant in the PACE program and a member of the Participant Advisory Committee. The committee is a group of people who come in and advise the staff on how the healthcare and social services are.
Lee told the story of how his health declined when he lost his vision in both eyes, eventually getting it back in his right eye, and also needed a kidney transplant. He continued to speak on how Element Care provided so much help for him.
“A wonderful woman across the street from where I was living introduced me to an organization called PACE… I interviewed with a few people and was accepted into the program. They were all over me, doctors everywhere, poking and prodding to find out what was going on with me,” Lee said. “I really did need a lot of help, and they just made it happen. It was wonderful.”
Lee finished by saying that the program was why he was alive today and looking forward to contributing to the program.
Thompson spoke next about the amazing building and program layout, and thanked those who had contributed so heavily to its creation.
“For those of you that have or may in the future have an opportunity to see this program in action, you’ll immediately notice how participants and staff are really elevated by the space and how sensitively the program has been designed and laid out to address the individual needs of each participant.” Thompson said.
Thompson then introduced Contreras and her husband, David Solimine Jr., who are huge reasons the center opened.
“When Mass General Brigham announced plans to close Union Hospital, I was as disappointed as anyone,” Solimine Jr. said. “When MGB put the hospital property up for sale, with my wife’s support, I went for it. Our goal was to return the property to the community.”
He went on to introduce Contreras and highlight her dedicated work for the community.
“I just want to thank all of you for being here. It means a lot,” Contreras said. “Element Care and the services that are going to be provided after we build that building are about community… We know that as elders, we’re going to need healthcare, and we’re going to need secure homes, and that’s what we want to provide to all of our residents here in Lynn.”
She also mentioned that all of this work was so that every elder in Lynn could stay in their community and have the resources to live with dignity.
The event ended with the ribbon cutting and everyone sharing their excitement for the program’s future.
