Transportation Program Keeps Seniors Independent and Healthy

Written by Rita Bowers, Redcross.org

A volunteer driver uses a Red Cross van to transport seniors to medical appointments and meal sites.

After retiring seven years ago, Harold Walton decided he wanted to make a difference for people like himself. That decision led him to volunteer two or three days a week to drive a van that takes seniors to medical appointments and meal sites. His contribution means a great deal to the seniors that ride with him. "Everyone of the seniors I drive seems a bit lonesome and they want to talk to me," he said. "They would ride all afternoon if I would let them. They are so thankful for this service."

Walton is one of 180 volunteer drivers who participate in the Midway-Kansas Chapter Transportation Program. The chapter provides transportation of blood products and transportation for people aged 60 and over to their medical appointments and Good Neighbor Nutrition Program (GNNP) sites for nutritious meals. They also transport disabled children to schools and assist in transporting children to the YMCA. The program was officially founded in 1973 when the chapter's Board of Directors formed a Transportation Department to address frequent requests. The program later narrowed its focus to the aforementioned areas.

"Being the director of the Transportation Department has been the highlight of my years with the American Red Cross," said Melissa Crawford. "We focus on frail, elderly people who live alone and we help them remain independent longer. We believe this is a prime benefit our service provides. I get to see first hand what access to medical appointments does for the elderly, and I receive gratitude from them on a daily basis."

In 2001, the chapter provided 708 seniors with 13,196 trips to medical appointments. Almost half of those trips were set up initially by the local Department of Social Services' case workers, medical aides or staff at medical offices for clients who could not afford any other means of transportation. The chapter recently did a survey of riders and found that 95 percent said the transportation truly helped them remain independent and in their own homes. Also, 87 percent of those surveyed said the program helped them maintain their emotional and physical health.

Tending to the participants' physical health is also a goal of the GNNP. This portion of the program provides door-to-door transportation to sites for meals during lunchtime. Kansas DOT vehicles and vans are purchased or leased by the chapter and used to transport seniors to sites located in buildings at parks, churches or senior centers. Drivers also deliver meals to those on the route who are homebound. During the week, drivers do more than 23,000 one-way trips annually and deliver approximately 27,000 homebound meals throughout Wichita and surrounding communities. The goals of the GNNP are to make sure people get a healthy meal and an opportunity to socialize with their peers outside of their homes.

"Our GNNP participants are so grateful for a chance to leave their homes and visit with our drivers, escorts and other meal participants during their lunchtime," said Crawford. "Our GNNP drivers also do some limited transportation, such as taking seniors to social events, in the evenings and on the weekends."

The blood product transportation is the only aspect where the drivers don't work with seniors. The drivers work with the Central Plains Blood Region and transport blood products throughout Kansas and Northwestern Oklahoma daily. More than 13 drivers set stock runs where they deliver products to hospitals and clinics, schedule pick-ups to retrieve products from blood mobiles, and handle emergency deliveries at various locations throughout Kansas. The goals for this service are that drivers are safe, timely and courteous to participating hospitals.

Brent Yoder, Region Account Manager, Central Plains Blood Region, can attest to these goals being met. Yoder said, "When visiting with hospitals that receive our blood products, they always compliment our staff, particularly the volunteer drivers who are punctual and friendly. In general, they say it is a real joy to see them with the stock deliveries."

The efficiency and effectiveness of the program is due to the structure of the program, which cross-trains more than 200 drivers, dispatchers and other volunteers in the program. Cross-training allows volunteers to learn how to work in many areas of the program and drive for any of the services, as Charlie Russell does. Russell was a member of the chapter's Board of Directors and later trained to be a driver when the chapter was short of staff. "Having so many of our volunteers cross-trained to drive for the chapter or blood programs enables us to use our volunteers to keep our programs going," said Crawford. "There have been times when we've received emergency requests to deliver blood to a nearby town. Without having to take time to make phone calls for an available driver, we've been able to have a volunteer who was in the building for chapter purposes make the drive. This ability gets the needed product out faster than we could have managed otherwise."

Another reason the program has been a success for nearly 30 years is because of the dedication of the volunteers. The program gives the volunteers a sense of accomplishment from giving life to people who need blood and providing assistance to an elderly person. Crawford shared an account of a widow whose husband was taken to dialysis by drivers in the program for the last two years. She wrote a letter of gratitude to the chapter after her husband died that read, "We appreciate so much your drivers picking Ralf up and taking him for dialysis Mondays and Wednesdays. It was a wonderful gift you gave us. If possible, please tell your volunteer drivers how much their company, as well as the driving, was enjoyed by Ralf."

If you would like more information about this chapter, visit their Web site.

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