The concept of the program at Providence Elder Place (PEP) is good. It's called the "PACE" program. If you are an Elder, on Medicare, Medicaid, for a co-pay (mine was 1/3rd my income a month) they take care of your basic health care needs, prescriptions, medical equipment. physical therapy, transportation to and from appointments, dental care, eye care and day care and lunch. They have good eats. Great food. The Chef knows her stuff.
For me, things started well. But soon I noticed time management problems. I would arrive for
a 10 a.m. Appointment, but not seen until 11:30 or 12 noon. Often it would be mid afternoon before my transportation arrived. A few times I had to wait up to 5 hours for transportation. I began making my own transportation arrangements.
There are also communication problems. A couple of times I called the clinic with bleeding injuries. Got the answering service. Which is not unusual. As is not getting a call back. Lack of communication mades it difficult to get follow-through with referrals. Once the referrals do go through, there were times that my primary physician did not read the notes from my visit with the Specialists. PEP insists that all new prescription go through them. So not reading the notes means prescriptions are not always filled quickly. Or that medical issues the specialist had found were followed up on quickly. Or that tests and blood work requested are not always scheduled. Things get ignored.
There is no guarantee that your Primary has read the notes when you meet with them either. And PEP does not provide after visit summaries or notes after each visit. Nor are there notes available on-line. One of the most dismaying communication problems I ran up against there was the "untruths" staff told. Untruths about having made referrals. About repairing/ replacing medical equipment. Or doing something that takes extra paperwork. Things that mean spending money. And thru omission. Services that were available, like a weight loss support group and clinic.
There are some good things about PEP. They have a hard working "front-line" staff. It is the only staff that is diverse. Most of the front line staff, the nurses and support staff, kitchen staff, transportation, scheduling, reception, recreation staff are great, supportive, positive, and very hard working. Things are just very unorganized. The level of staff frustration is often palpable.
While I was paying for dental coverage, they were with out a dentist for a long time. We all received letters stating we were to find our own dentists. Which I found odd. Considering they did have their own social worker. I've done social work, that seems like an appropriate task for a social worker to help with. I lost several teeth while I waited for them to get a dentist. I ended up having to get partial dentures. The day I was being fitted for my bottom dentures, the denturist put is lips on me. I found out through the health dept. that he had 8 closed complaints against him. When I told PEP, the Clinical Director told me they were only obligated to check the License Board, not the health department. They are still sending women to him. They refused to allow me to go to another Denturist.
While they do cover medical equipment, they did not cover the blood pressure monitor my cardiologist prescribed. Or the 48 hour heart monitor test that he ordered. When I asked the social worker if she could help me find a resource that might help me with the cost of the monitor she told me it was not her job. Things got worse with her and I after that. She became very punitive. As did other staff members after I stood up to them. The monitor test was never addressed.
One year after my being with PEP I let them know that I would not be able to write them a positive YELP review. They called a meeting of my "Care Team" so we could talk about my complaints. Some of the referrals I asked for came through after that, some didn't. As I mentioned the social worker, and others became punitive. Not 4 months after my taking a stand, the social worker made a false 911 call to the police about me. She told the 911 dispatch "there is a Black woman at our clinic with a gun"....at first. And then refutes it. I came out of the bathroom to a wall of police demanding to know if I had a gun. Demanding that I show them my gun. I am a very lucky woman. I am still alive. The lead officer very quickly realized that I, a 62 year old Black female in a power chair, on supplemental oxygen did not have a gun. After the police left, some of the Black frontline staff came out and apologized profusely, and put me on a van to go home. The white staff had disappeared. I did not hear from the clinic for over 24 hours. I have not been back there. This is my experience at PEP. If you choose PEP, know that you, or your family will have to spend a lot of time demanding that they follow up on their promises. read more
