WARREN — An organization that helps senior citizens age in their homes safely is working toward opening three senior day centers at former Rite Aid buildings, one each in Trumbull, Mahoning and Ashtabula counties.

And when they do — sometime around October — it will be in line with the rollout of Buckeye PACE in the three-county region.

Buckeye PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) is a partner of Erie, Pa.-based One Senior Care that provides dual-eligible — those eligible for Medicare and Medicaid — who are at least 55 years old the services and care needed to live in their own homes.

Ohio will be the organization’s fourth state for providing PACE services. It does so already in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia.

“One Senior Care, we have a special passion for rural PACE because several of us live in rural Appalachian areas where there are huge health gaps, huge gaps for seniors who need our services,” Marcie Campbell of Kinsman, vice president of marketing and intake for One Senior Care, said.

The centers are part of the plan that allows people to receive at-home help with daily tasks. In fact, Campbell said, all of the activities and services spring from the centers.

“It’s very preventative. It’s holistic and it’s everything in one place, coordinated to make sure seniors are staying safe, healthy and independent at home,” Campbell said. “PACE becomes the provider and the insurer, which is such a neat concept.”

Each participant can receive a wide variety of services at the centers that are part of the Buckeye PACE program, from medical care to transportation to physical and occupational therapy to social engagement.

The centers will be at the former Rite Aid buildings at:

* 2154 Elm Road NE, Warren

* 2701 Market St., Youngstown

* 2148 Lake Ave., Ashtabula

Construction should be complete by early summer, but before they can open, Buckeye PACE must pass federal and state reviews and be certified before providing services, which pushes the start date to around October, Campbell said.

According to the Trumbull County Auditor’s Office, the company LBSW LLC acquired the Elm Road property and building for $1.45 million in July. The Mahoning County Auditor’s Office shows LBSY LLC acquired land and building on Market Street for $1.5 million, also in July.

The auditor’s office in Ashtabula County shows LBSA LLC acquired the Lake Avenue building and land for $1.4 million in October.

What was attractive to One Senior Care about the former Rite Aid stores is the wide open floor plan “that lent itself perfectly and aligned to what we need to keep our seniors safe,” Campbell said, as well as square footage. The company’s sweet spot for the size of the day centers is right around 11,000 square feet, Campbell said.

Each of the local centers will be built nearly identically.

On a recent walk-through of the Elm Road site, Campbell talked about what would be available at the centers.

Each will have an activity area; a quiet room with reclining chairs to rest; and a clinic that Campbell likened to an urgent care facility with a nurse’s station, observation area with beds, private exam rooms, a medication room and space for labs.

Neither imaging nor X-rays will be done at the centers, “so we do have to send our participants out for that, but we take them there,” Campbell said.

Also, the centers will have a personal care area. At the Elm Road site, three rooms are framed for personal care rooms.

“If someone can’t safely take a shower at home because they can’t step into their tub, even if we were there with them, they can come in here,” Campbell said. “We have shower chairs, shower stretchers, so even somebody who can’t stand up and bear weight can take a shower here.”

In addition, the centers will have a laundry facility for clients to have their clothes laundered on-site as well as a dining area and kitchen that can tailor to the nutritional needs of participants.

To be eligible for Buckeye PACE, a person must be at least 55 years old, live in a ZIP code of the county with a center and be certified as nursing home-eligible, but that only means the person displays two frailty factors, Campbell said.

“That simply means there are two areas where that senior needs help,” Campbell said.

Buckeye PACE services include primary and specialty physician services, 24/7 medical on-call, nutritional counseling and meals, home care and home health, transportation and medical devices, including walkers, wheelchairs, glasses, hearing aids and medications, both prescribed and over-the-counter.

Also through the program is an interdisciplinary team to work with clients to tailor a plan that best suits the person’s needs. Most clients have Medicare and Medicaid, but they need only Medicaid.

For services authorized by PACE, there is no bill.

“They don’t pay for anything. They do not get a bill from PACE. There are no co-pays, no deductibles, no out-of-pocket expenses,” Campbell said.