Brio’s Luke Reynolds Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at PACE Day at the Capitol
Brio Living Services’ Chief of Home and Community-Based Services, Luke Reynolds recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s PACE Day at the Capitol on June 10. This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to advance the mission and vision of PACE in Michigan.
PACE, or Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, serves the psychosocial, medical, and supportive needs of low-income, nursing home-eligible older adults, ages 55 and older, who live in the PACE service areas. PACE’s interdisciplinary team of professionals provides participants with a “one-stop” shop model for all their healthcare needs, including comprehensive medical, occupational and physical therapy, pharmacy needs, nutrition and meals, health education, social and recreational activities, and door-to-door transportation. Most participants are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and pay no additional fees for PACE services.
Luke began his career in PACE at LifeCircles PACE, with day centers in Holland and Muskegon, Michigan in 2012. In 2014, Luke became the executive director of LifeCircles PACE. In January 2022, he was named Brio’s chief of home and community-based services. In addition to the organization’s PACE centers, Luke oversees Brio’s services such as Porter Hills Home Health Care and Avenues by Brio Living Services, a unique membership-based program that allows Grand Rapids area older adults to live in their own home, predict long-term care costs, and enhance their lifestyle.
In 2015 the PACE Association of Michigan (PAM) was incorporated, and Luke served as the organization’s original board chair, a position he has held for the last ten years. His term ends in July 2025.
“As the founding chair of the PACE Association of Michigan, Luke Reynolds has been a steady, guiding force since day one,” said Stephanie Winslow, Executive Director of PAM. “His leadership, vision, and quiet determination helped shape not just an association, but a movement—one that has expanded access to PACE, fueled growth across Michigan, and strengthened the future of care for older adults. Beyond all of that, Luke is just a genuinely good person, and it’s been an honor to work alongside him. This Lifetime Achievement Award is a well-deserved recognition of both his impact and his integrity.”
Under Luke’s leadership, PAM recruited Winslow as its executive director. “Stephanie has been an incredible advocate and has taught us how to communicate and tell our stories to legislators. Not many people knew about PACE ten years ago. Now PACE is well-known and respected.”
PACE has grown 470% throughout the United States from 2012 to 2022 in numbers of programs, and 33 states now have at least one PACE program. Michigan has the third most PACE programs in the country with fourteen. “In 2024 the number of PACE organizations grew at an unprecedented rate, from an average of six to seven per year to 25 new PACEs added,” said Luke.
Brio Living Services currently has four PACE programs, serving over 1,400 older adults annually across lower Michigan.
Luke shared that PACE is the “gold standard” of caring for an aging population that is growing, especially in Michigan where over two million, or 25% of the population, are 65 and older.
“I think it’s the way that healthcare should be delivered for vulnerable older adults,” said Luke. “It combines the importance of caring for older adults with what matters most to them, allowing you to really tailor their care in a way that makes sense and provides them the dignity to age in place in their own homes and communities. The ability to tailor and customize the PACE model for the community you serve allows you to meet the cultural and demographic needs of the people in each specific area.”
Luke especially appreciates the way PACE supports family caregivers. “PACE allows them to be a loved one and not the main care manager for their family member,” said Luke. “PACE helps them navigate the complexity of the medical system and allows them to be able to maintain their own professional or family commitments, which creates more resilient caregivers.”
PACE Day at the Capitol is hosted by the PACE Association of Michigan and gives PACE participants, team members, and volunteers the opportunity to gather on the Capitol lawn to speak with legislators and their staff to help raise awareness for PACE.
Learn more about PACE or Brio Living Services’ other communities and service lines that offer a continuum of care serving older adults at all income levels.