PROVIDENCE – PACE Organization of Rhode Island plans to use the $40,000 grant it received last week to help pay for a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center at its new headquarters in East Providence, the nonprofit says.
The grant, awarded by the Fred M. Roddy Foundation, is the first major gift to PACE-RI’s capitol campaign aimed at renovating a newly purchased site at 10 Tripps Lane in East Providence.
Plans for the rehabilitation center at the location include a gym for exercise and physical therapy, along with a replica kitchen, bathroom, car and bed.
“The people we serve are determined to remain in their own homes as they age, no matter what physical challenges they have,” said Joan Kwiatkowski, PACE-RI’s CEO. “The Roddy Foundation Rehabilitation Center at PACE will have a key role in helping us meet our participants’ functional and restorative needs so they can retain their independence.”
PACE-RI is a health plan founded in 2005 that provides both insurance and medical care for older adults with chronic health needs.
“The Fred M. Roddy Foundation is committed to supporting innovative projects that ensure quality health care for area residents,” said Elizabeth McIntyre, the foundation’s president.
“Fred Roddy himself was an innovator who developed machines and processes that led to a new way of producing plastics. His legacy lives on in the work of his foundation, which has supported groundbreaking projects for almost 50 years,” McIntyre continued. “He would have been thrilled to support PACE, an organization dedicated to doing things differently, helping people age in place, and producing remarkable results for the community.”
