Practice Question
A home health nurse is caring for a group of older adult clients. The nurse should initiate a referral to the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) for which of the following clients?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
A client who requires transfer to a skilled care facility
Rationale:
💠 PACE is designed for older adults who meet nursing home–level of care but wish to remain in the community rather than be institutionalized.
💠 A client who is about to be transferred to a skilled care facility likely has complex medical and functional needs that qualify them for nursing home–level care.
💠 PACE provides comprehensive services such as primary care, rehab, social services, adult day services, and often transportation under one coordinated program.
💠 Referring this client to PACE offers an alternative that can prevent or delay institutionalization, allowing the client to stay at home with support.
💠 Therefore, a client requiring transfer to a skilled care facility is an appropriate candidate for a PACE referral.
A client whose family requests hospital-based hospice care
💠 Hospice care is specifically for clients who are terminally ill and have a life expectancy of about 6 months or less if the disease follows its usual course.
💠 Hospital-based hospice focuses on comfort care, symptom management, and support at end-of-life, not long-term community-based management.
💠 PACE is intended for frail older adults with chronic conditions needing comprehensive care, not primarily for those at end-of-life.
💠 If the family is requesting hospital-based hospice, the appropriate referral is to a hospice program, not PACE.
💠 Thus, this client is better served by hospice, not by the PACE model.
The nurse should initiate a referral for hospice care for a client who is dying
💠 This statement describes when to use hospice, not when to use PACE.
💠 A client who is actively dying and no longer seeking curative treatment is appropriately referred to hospice services.
💠 Hospice focuses on palliative, comfort-focused care, emotional support, and family assistance at end-of-life.
💠 In contrast, PACE is for ongoing, long-term, interdisciplinary care for older adults who need nursing home–level care but are stable enough to live in the community.
💠 Therefore, this statement is true about hospice, but it does not describe a PACE referral candidate.
A client who qualifies for telehealth for pacemaker diagnostics
💠 A client who only needs telehealth for pacemaker checks may otherwise be medically stable and independent.
💠 Telehealth support alone does not indicate nursing home–level care, which is a key requirement for PACE eligibility.
💠 PACE is reserved for older adults with significant functional and medical needs, not those with only isolated pacemaker monitoring needs.
💠 This client can be appropriately managed with telehealth and routine cardiology follow-up, without needing a comprehensive PACE program.
💠 Thus, this client does not meet the typical profile for a PACE referral.
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This question is from RN ATI VATI comprehensive practice 2025 which contains 120 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI EXIT Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Comprehensive Predictor Exam(s)~2025
- Answer Choices: 4