José L. Pérez joined AltaMed’s PACE program, with the idea of being given a pill to end his days.
“Isn’t there a pill to help me die? I told my wife; and I asked the doctor at AltaMed PLACE Gran Plaza the same thing, because ‘I saw how bad I am. I can’t even walk and I feel very sad,'” he told the doctor.
Those times when José was overcome with sadness are behind him. Her life has turned around for the better since she enrolled in AltaMed’s PACE program in Los Angeles.
At 74 years old, José has recovered his physical and emotional health, and best of all, his desire to live.
It was 35 years ago that he emigrated from his native Mexico to Los Angeles. Here he started a family, married and had four children, who are all adults today. He always worked in construction, but in 2017 when he was still working, and was in the process of retiring, he suffered an accident when he fell face up, and was injured in such a way that he was unable to walk for a while. He could barely take a few steps with the help of two people.
“I was in another clinic before, but when I saw an advertisement for AltaMed PACE that said they even came to your house to take you to receive therapies, I spoke on the phone and they came to my home to interview me,” he recalls.
That’s how he joined AltaMed’s PACE program; and from starting out struggling to walk, today he walks without problems, only helped by a staff.
“He’s been here for about six years. I come to this center three days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 in the morning to 12 noon. They take me and bring me back, and they give me breakfast and lunch.”
But that’s not all, José says that they offer him endless activities such as physical exercises, therapies, games and he even uses the machines to stay in shape.
“I love coexistence. I am happy here. I feel very happy. It has changed my life.”
He says that doctors, nurses and employees are very attentive.
“I like it because they give me an interpreter when I go to a consultation and the doctor doesn’t speak Spanish. Before in other clinics I went to they told me ‘don’t speak spanish‘. Not here, they even help me with the paperwork. When I find a specialist, they take me to the César Chávez clinic and to treat my teeth, we go to another place, Huntington Park; They also take care of my eyes.”
Something he likes is that everything is very close to his house. José lives in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the AltaMed clinic, which he attends three times a week, is just a few minutes away, in the same neighborhood.
“I recommend many friends to come to AltaMed. Many are heartbroken. When you are old like this it happens, sometimes you get sad thinking about how you will pay the rent, and with everything being so expensive. What the insurance gives us is very little, but we have to know how to manage ourselves.”
He says that when he felt sad and wanted to die, they did many studies to make sure everything in his head was in order.
And although he suffers from a series of chronic conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol and other conditions, thanks to the medical care of AltaMed PACE, he has everything under control, he says.
“My wife tells me that I was resurrected again; and my friends – they say – that I am not sick, and that I am being foolish.”
So when he finds his friends, he invites them to join AltaMed PACE.
“Here you make friends with doctors, nurses and therapists. Not only are they attentive but they encourage you. My friends, they ask me ‘will you welcome me’. I tell them, ‘of course you will’ and they will make many friends. That’s very good, because in many families, when people get old, they don’t treat them well. Here at AltaMed PACE it’s the opposite. They welcome you with a smile,” says José, very pleased.
The AltaMed PACE program has been around for more than 25 years, and is offered at 18 sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Additionally, AltaMed PACE has a new center at 8800 Foothill Blvd. Sunland, California, where they offer physical and occupational therapy.
The results they have obtained over the years in the program are that older adults recover their lives, acquire a sense of independence and empowerment as in the case of José.
Registration for AltaMed PACE is open year-round.
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