Empath LIFE – Suncoast PACE Day Center

Empath LIFE, home of Suncoast PACE, is a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) run by Empath Health on 102nd Avenue North in Pinellas Park. Its ground-level day center combines medical care and day care with activities, groups, meals and socialization, plus an on-site medical clinic and a physical and occupational therapy suite. It serves Pinellas County residents 55 and older who are certified by the state as needing nursing home level of care and can live safely in the community. Reviewers describe a clean facility, caring staff and a hot lunch, and one spouse says her husband with early-onset Alzheimer's comes home happy; others say hospice patients cannot attend and describe disagreements over placement. It is licensed by the State of Florida as an Adult Day Care Center for up to 112 participants.

The day room offers computers, TV, nutritious meals and snacks, fitness sessions, educational seminars, special events and recreational activities such as video and board games, music and bingo. The center also has a medical clinic, a physical and occupational therapy suite, a meditation room, an arts, crafts and sewing area, a covered screened patio, a gardening area and nature walkways, with a secure main entrance.

The center is at 6774 102nd Ave N, Pinellas Park, FL 33782, and is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Participants must be 55 or older, live in Pinellas County and be certified by the state as needing nursing home level of care. Call (866) 458-2933 (hearing impaired: (800) 955-8771) to discuss eligibility and enrollment.