Living Independently for Elders, a one-of-a-kind program of the School of Nursing, has recently added new zip codes in Delaware County in addition to those it already serves in West and Southwest Philadelphia.
LIFE is the only all-inclusive health care program for the elderly in the nation to be owned and operated by a nursing school.
“It’s a natural progression for the program. The additional zip codes enable us to care for members … who move in with their children who’ve moved to Delaware County,” said LIFE Chief Executive Officer Daniel Drake.
“Unfortunately, if somebody had to live with their children because they were becoming feeble and a little older, they would have to disenroll [from] the program, so the state saw that and awarded us these three zip codes that border our center,” he added.
As a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, LIFE provides nurse-led preventive, primary, acute and long-term care to eligible senior citizens, allowing them to live in the community rather than in a nursing home.
“People say we’re like an inside-out nursing home,” Drake said. “We provide all of the care that a nursing home would provide but the benefit is that the people get to go back home every day and live in the community.”
While the LIFE center — located at 4508 Chestnut Street — may not lie at the heart of campus, Penn students across many schools have found educational opportunities at the center.
College junior Annie Olsen has been volunteering at LIFE since the beginning of this semester. Her sister had worked at the center as part of Penn’s nursing program and suggested it to Olsen, who is majoring in biological basis of behavior.
At LIFE, she helps out in the physical therapy room. “I get to help distribute and collect equipment, make sure everyone is comfortable and lead some of the exercises,” she said. “So far, it’s been a really enjoyable experience. All the people I’ve interacted with have been incredibly friendly and easy to talk to, and for the most part it seems like they genuinely want to be there.”
Drake explained that Nursing students do clinical rotations at the center, which also attracts students from the Wharton School, the School of Social Policy & Practice and the School of Dental Medicine.
“[The students’] presence is very well known around here and we look forward to having them here,” said Rhonda Edwards, a therapeutic recreational assistant at LIFE. “They’re entering the work field soon and it gives them a feel for what they’re about to go into.”
Edwards runs activity-based groups, discussion forums and classes for the members.
“My favorite part of the work I do is that I get to work one-on-one with all of the members … I’ve built their trust over the years,” she said. “A lot of [the new members] come looking for me because they hear about this ‘Rhonda.’”
Chaplain Le’ Roi Gill offers one-on-one counseling, spiritual programs and events, Bible studies and worship services at LIFE. “You cannot treat people medically without addressing their spiritual needs as well,” he said.
Gill believes that volunteering opportunities provide a mutual benefit to both students and elders. “We are so fragmented. The elders are in one place. The younger people are growing up in a wholly different world,” he said. “When young people come in to the LIFE center, helping elders out, working with them hand in hand, I think it does a lot for both.”
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