Penn Nursing’s LIFE (Living Independently For Elders) program, which has served senior citizens in West and Southwest Philadelphia since 1998, is now accepting qualified older members from the Yeadon, Lansdowne, Upper Darby, and Havertown communities in nearby Delaware County.

Modeled after the national Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly plan, LIFE offers frail seniors, faced with probable nursing home placement, the choice to remain in their communities, live in their homes, and receive healthcare and social services at the LIFE Center at 4508 Chestnut St. in West Philadelphia.

Since its inception, LIFE successfully has served more than 600 Philadelphia seniors.

Funded by Medicare and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare, Penn’s LIFE program remains the first and only such program in the nation to be owned and operated by a school of nursing.

“LIFE exemplifies the best of Penn Nursing,” says Daniel Drake, the program’s executive director.