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| Media Contacts Mary Jo Wich Lois Kendall 314-525-4005 |
Release Date: 11/13/2008
Home Transport Program Offers Rides to Seniors and Disabled Adults to Medical Center Campus
Rick Herr, supervisor of the Transportation Department for St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s Senior Services, assists patient Charlene Trent as she exits the wheelchair lift-equipped van.
One of the biggest problems encountered by older adults who are living independently is transportation. Many no longer are able to drive – or they never did. Some have developed a disability or special need for this type of service.
And, while family members and friends often are available on weekends to drive them to the grocery store or bank, finding a ride for a weekday appointment to access medical care, such as outpatient cancer therapies, wound care, physical therapy or radiology, may prove more difficult.
St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s Senior Services department recognized this need in the community it serves and has taken steps to fill it – with the “Home Transport” program. This program provides roundtrip transportation for adults age 60 and older and people with disabilities from their homes to St. Anthony’s campus.
“As our population ages, they often need more – not less – access to medical services, but transportation can become a big issue for them,” said Ellie Sicola, R.N., director of St. Anthony’s Senior Services. “We have provided transportation to St. Anthony’s for seniors living in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers for several years; but this is the first time we have offered this service to private individuals living in their homes. This is a need we’ve identified, and the hospital is committed to improving access to medical services for the residents of this community.”
Trained drivers, dressed in uniforms and displaying ID badges, use wheelchair-accessible vans to pick up patients within a 12-mile radius of the medical center, and extending 20 miles into Jefferson County, said Rick Herr, supervisor of the Transportation Department.
“We ask patients to call us with their appointment times 48 hours in advance, if possible,” Herr said. “Our drivers pick up the residents at their doors (must be at ground level or handicapped accessible, no stairs), and transport them directly to the department for their scheduled appointments. Our goal is to provide an efficient service with minimal wait time for the return trip home.”
Charlene Trent was the first patient to use the Home Transport service. She lives in Oakville and visits St. Anthony’s Wound Treatment Center once a week to receive treatment for problems that developed after spine surgery.
“I love it, it’s a wonderful service,” Trent said. “The drivers are so sweet and I feel very comfortable with them, very safe. I’ve never had to wait longer than 15 or 20 minutes, and it gives my husband a break from driving me every time. When I’m finished at the Wound Center, I’ll begin physical therapy, and I plan to use the service again. This helps a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive medical services because they have no transportation to the hospital.”
Stephen Staten, M.D., a Family Practice specialist on staff at St. Anthony’s, has called the Transportation Service at least a half-dozen times, whenever one of his patients needs to be taken from the hospital to a nearby nursing home or rehab center.
“I’m into cost containment; and when one of my patients was going to have to call an ambulance – costing hundreds of dollars – to be transported a mile or two away from the
medical center, I thought that was crazy,” Dr. Staten said. “I called Rick and he said they could take care of it. I kept his number handy, and I call him whenever one of my patients needs him.”
Dr. Staten called the Home Transport for private individuals “a great idea” and “something a lot of patients will utilize.”
“This is a positive win-win for the patients and the hospital,” Dr. Staten said. “It shows the medical center’s commitment, that even in tough economic times, they are going to step up to the plate. It’s a great community service and it shows St. Anthony’s taking a stand and saying, ‘We care.’ ”
St. Anthony’s Home Transport service is available from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays to area residents who are 60 or older or disabled. Cost for a round trip from home to St. Anthony’s campus and back is $15. For more information or to schedule transportation, call 314-525-1889.
HOME TRANSPORTATION FACTS:
- St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s Senior Services now offers “Home Transport,” a program that provides roundtrip transportation for adults age 60 and older and people with disabilities from their homes to St. Anthony’s campus.
- Patients who have an appointment at any facility on St. Anthony’s campus – Cancer Center, Cardiac Rehab, Hyland Behavioral Health, Wound Treatment Center, Outpatient Surgery or any other department – are offered this service.
- A St. Anthony’s Transportation Department driver, wearing uniform and badge and driving a marked, wheelchair-accessible van, picks up patients at their homes (must be ground level or wheelchair-accessible, no stairs), and transports them directly to their appointments.
- When a patient’s appointment is completed, the driver is called to pick up the patient and take him or her back home. Wait time for pick-up generally is less than an hour.
- Home Transport will pick up patients within a 12-mile radius of the medical center, extending 20 miles into Jefferson County.
- Patients are asked to schedule their appointment times for pick-up 48 hours in advance, if possible.
- Home Transport service is available from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays to area residents who are 60 or older or disabled.
- Cost for a round trip from home to St. Anthony’s campus and back is $15.
- Call 314-525-1889 for more information or to schedule transportation.
For information, please call our Health Access Line at 314-ANTHONY (268-4669) or 800-554-9550 or visit our find a physician online.
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