Mathew Wetherell, a physician with Fallon Health’s Summit ElderCare PACE program, visits with participant Mark Kapetanakis at Golden Pond. PHOTO/FALLON HEALTH

When Doug Noble became the executive director of The Communities at Golden Pond in January after serving in an interim role, he was determined to institute positive changes.

“I have worked there for nine years and 35 years in the industry, so I was very familiar with multiple roles and what needed to be done,” Noble explained. “I reworked some things. I kept people who I knew were doing their jobs well and also added some new faces to create a stronger team.”

These moves paid off. Golden Pond, located at 50 West Main Street, received its two-year reaccreditation from the state’s Executive Office of Aging & Independence (AGE) in April after AGE conducted an inspection of the facility. AGE is required to inspect assisted living facilities “at least once every two years,” according to its website.

“In their words, it was remarkable how good everything is now,” said Noble in a recent interview with the Independent. “I thanked the staff for all their hard work to improve.”

In 2023 and 2025, Golden Pond experienced periods where its services were suspended for failing the state’s requirements. The most recent case was the failure of a Jan. 14 AGE compliance review. Its corrective action plan was approved by AGE on Feb. 26.

Before that, Golden Pond in 2023 was ordered by the state not to accept new residents after two failed compliance reviews.  At that time, then-executive director Michael Volpe attributed staffing and infection control challenges of running the facility during a pandemic as the factors that led to the occurrence of these violations.

Summit ElderCare partnership key

Shortly before becoming executive director, Noble heard about the state’s Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). According to the mass.gov website, it is administered by MassHealth and Medicare to provide a wide range of medical, social, recreational and wellness services to eligible participants 55 and older. He realized that its core values dovetailed with Golden Pond’s mission.

“There was a real symmetry between what they do and the care we provide at Golden Pond,” he said. “Both of our missions are to help people age in place.”

In a recent Zoom interview with the Independent, Dinah Olanoff, Fallon Health’s PACE director for growth and engagement, explained that the state’s PACE program has been quietly growing for 30 years.

“One of the funny things about PACE is no one really knows about it,” she explained. “Because we’re carefully regulated, we’re not allowed to just advertise or promote ourselves in a very broad way. It’s a very grassroots kind of effort.”

PACE is regulated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. While Olanoff described PACE as “a national effort,” not every state has PACE.

“We were one of the first PACE programs in the country,” she noted. “We’re very proud of that. And we’re the oldest and largest PACE program available in Massachusetts.”

“It’s a secret we don’t want to keep,” added Melissa Randall, director of corporate communications for Fallon Health. She explained that MetroWest’s PACE program, called Summit ElderCare, falls under the “Fallon umbrella” of government-sponsored health insurance programs.

PACE moves into MetroWest

Summit ElderCare announced the opening of its alternative care setting in Framingham  in February in an effort to spread into MetroWest. Until that time, the region had no access to the PACE program. The need for expansion, according to Olanoff, was stressed by Marylou Sudders, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts.

“[Sudders] once called MetroWest a PACE desert,” she said. “She was very sad that people in that area didn’t have access to the program.”

Summit ElderCare connected with nearby Golden Pond because “our missions and values very much aligned.”

Olanoff stressed that the program is available to all eligible older residents.

Said Olanoff: “You can live in your own home, with family, in assisted living, in senior housing or in a rest home.”

Summit ElderCare becomes the medical provider and insurer for enrollees, negating the need for private health insurance, she added.

“They get everything from us,” Olanoff explained. “As people need more and more support, we provide more and more support. It’s a great program for people who need a little help and are struggling to find all the resources they need together.”

Services include a personalized care plan with a primary care team. Support services including physical therapists, social workers and nutritionists are available. Providers can visit a person’s home, or patients can receive transportation to the Framingham office.

Olanoff referred to this as a “high-touch” approach to care, where doctors see fewer than 100 patients. This prioritizes care for those sometimes said to be living in their golden years.

“As we age, we’re not really getting the attention we need from our doctors,” she noted. “But with this program, your care team is really going to engage with you. For your first doctor visit, you may spend two hours with your doctor to get a complete medical history and medication reconciliation.”

Through relationships with geriatric care providers, rehabilitation centers and assisted living facilities, Summit ElderCare works to ensure that “no one falls through the cracks,” she added.

Golden opportunity to blend services

Summit ElderCare supports Golden Pond by providing services that the facility cannot, explained Olanoff. It offers skilled care, with calls triaged by a nurse. This includes medication management and support for complex conditions like diabetes.

“The best part about the relationship with Golden Pond is that it’s really supportive,” she said. “They provide the housing, and we provide the medical care. It makes it a really integrated package.”

There are 14 residents enrolled in the program since its inception at Golden Pond in May, Noble said, and interest is growing.

Randall agreed, calling the Golden Pond partnership “an exceptional new collaboration and partnership.”

“The partnership with Golden Pond is still in its early stages, but we’re seeing a really encouraging, positive start,” she said, noting she recently visited the facility. “Every month, we continue to enroll more people at Golden Pond. One of the amazing things about Golden Pond that’s pretty cool is that they serve a traditional population, but they also offer memory support. For a lot of people, that is a very hard thing to find.”