PCA 2.0 by 2033: Strategic planning leads the way

Alicia Colombo

By Najja R. Orr, MBA, DBA, PCA President & CEO

On Dec. 3, 2023, PCA will mark its 50th anniversary. That’s five incredible decades of providing much-needed support to older Philadelphians and people living with disabilities. Services provided by us over this timeframe are in the millions! This includes 43 million nutritious meals, 5 million rides sponsored, more than 3 million calls answered by PCA’s Helpline, more than 2 million hours of senior companionship, 1 million assessments for long-term care services conducted, and 1 million older Philadelphians assisted with free Medicare counseling. [Click Here>> for infographic.]

Our legacy of caring was bolstered even further in 2023. Below are just some of the accomplishments we’ve achieved over the past year:

• Creating the LBGTQ+ Advisory Council.
• Raising more than $400,000 for PCA’s two charitable funds: the Rodney D. Williams Philadelphia Fund for Seniors, which supports the vital services PCA provides to help older adults age in place, and the Emergency Fund for Older Philadelphians, a resource of last resort to help low-income older adults in crisis who need help with the basic human needs.
• Piloting a benefit-screening service through the PCA Helpline.
• Collaborating to create the home-sharing service, Housemates of Philadelphia County.
• Piloting a best-practice project by PCA’s Housing Department, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Commission on Aging and Phila. Dept. of Public Health, to install air conditioners in the homes of older adults.
• PCA hosting 18 listening sessions across the city and gathering feedback and suggestions from more than 450 older adults and other aging-services stakeholders to help the Pennsylvania Department of Aging develop its future Master Plan for Older Adults. The Master Plan is a 10-year strategic plan designed to transform the infrastructure and coordination of services for older Pennsylvanians.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

— Barack Obama

In preparation for PCA’s next 50 years, we are looking at ways we can continue to grow and support the community better. We are setting short- and long-term goals to help us improve, both as a service agency and as a business.

It is with excitement that we look toward creating a stronger foundation for PCA’s future by committing to it and making it successful for the many older Philadelphians and adults with disabilities we serve, both today and tomorrow.

PCA has been here to serve older Philadelphians and their caregivers for the past 50 years, and we’ll be here for the next 50 years and beyond! Please reach out to the PCA Helpline at 215-765-9040 or go to pcaCares.org for information about our programs and services.