South Philly Review

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A different sort of senior moment occurred at the former St. Agnes Continuing Care Center, 1930 S. Broad St., Friday.

At a late-morning gathering, nearly 200 people, including about 30 seniors, united to celebrate the opening of a 20,000-square-foot facility that will provide all-inclusive care for the elderly. The latest center for Mercy LIFE (Living Independently for Elders) gives South Philadelphia a pair of innovative locations for what Carol Quinn, Mercy Home Health CEO, termed “the community’s most cherished population.”

The expansive location grants alternatives to older adults whose states might otherwise necessitate receiving home assistance.

“This center will work to preserve the dignity and as much of the independence as possible of our seniors,” City Council President Anna Verna said.

Joining her were LIFE personnel, a state official, program participants and religious figures charged with sanctifying the area. Before them, rows of community members learned how the site will allow health professionals to give participants medical, social and supportive services either on the premises or in their homes. It joins other centers in North Philadelphia and Gray Ferry, 3001 Moore St., as members of LIFE’s continuing care facilities,

Born at St. Agnes, Sister Marge Sullivan of the Order of Saint Francis recalled parts of her upbringing that she feels still mark the area.

“We had two constants, family and neighborhood. LIFE is all about retaining those in each community,” the vice president of mission services for The Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, N.J., said.

Since its October 1998 establishment, LIFE has served more than 600 seniors and employs 175 doctors, nurses, social workers and therapists to serve its 350 current participants.

“We are hoping to make our newest center a real cornerstone for the community,” H. Ray Welch Jr., president and CEO of Mercy Health System of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Catholic Health East executive vice president of ministry services, said.

LIFE belongs to the Mercy Health System, which, as the largest Catholic health care system serving the Delaware Valley, oversees four acute-care hospitals, the three aforementioned continuing care facilities and the Home Health care agency. That agency operates in five counties and makes 300,000 annual visits, according to Quinn.

As a multi-institutional health system, Catholic Health East receives co-sponsorship from 13 religious congregations, including the Sisters of Mercy, who ventured from Ireland to the United States in 1861 to start schools and minister to the sick.

Monsignor Kevin Lawrence, Philadelphia South’s regional vicar, and Father Joseph Dinh C. Huynh, St. Thomas Aquinas’ parochial vicar, 1719 Morris St., honored God’s aid in helping the Sisters and workers by blessing the six crucifixes that will adorn the facility, anointing the hands of employees and using holy water to bless the facility’s rooms.

“We pray that by anointing with oil, the hands of those who will minister at this Mercy LIFE Center will be strengthened for the work that lies ahead,” Lawrence said.

The men of God consecrated a triage area, a physical and occupational therapy gym in what was once a chapel, a full-service kitchen, activity rooms, offices and a little area for hairdressing. The facility also offers, among its medical services, dental, foot and vision care and distribution of prescribed medications, according to clinical manager Beth McGlynn, who held the same position at the Grays Ferry site.

Though assisting participants on-site is preferred, staff members will trek to homes to provide supportive services such as housekeeping, helping with laundry, cooking, dressing, meal planning and spiritual counseling. Social services include transportation, finance management and home-delivered meals. If someone’s condition steadily worsens, LIFE arranges for Hospice care.

The participants who witnessed the dedication and blessing came from the North Philadelphia location. Those participants in Grays Ferry will follow the first wave of transitions scheduled to finish by the second week of December, McGlynn said.

A nationally recognized Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), LIFE is open to North and South Philadelphia residents. They must be age 55 or older, have health problems that make living at home difficult, possess a desire to remain at home and be eligible for Medicaid or Medicare or be able to pay privately.

“LIFE programs look to give people increased say in their destiny,” Michael Hall, Pennsylvania Department of Aging secretary, said. “Our state has the most adult day care services centers in the country. In fact, we almost have more programs than all the other states combined.”