[Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia

Tue Jun 26 16:21:21 UTC 2012

Good morning Jack and everyone,

    Speaking of appointments one should see if the medical facility they 
have been referred to offers curtesy transportation for patients coming for 
doctors appointments or to have procedures performed. There are a number of 
such facilities here in San Antonio.

    The Methodist Health System operates what it calls the "Methodist Health 
Bus." This service will pick up patients from their home or workplace and 
transport them to any Methodist facility within a particular geographic area 
of the city. free of charge.?We used it a lot when we lived in Alamo Heights 
as many of our doctors are located near Metropolitan Methodist Hospital. 
Since moving to Northeast San Antonio we've found it difficult to use this 
service as they only operate within a part of the city. They have one bus 
that services central San Antonio, another one serving Northeast San 
Antonio, and still another one serving the Northwest Part of the City. We're 
working with them to change this system to allow patients to use the service 
to travel to any Methodist facility in the city served by the Methodist 
Health Bus.
    Sendero Imaging and Ryke Physical Therapy provide complementary 
transportation for patients coming for imaging procedures or for physical 
therapy. Mary used Ryke's transportation when she had to have physical 
therapy last year following knee surgery. She scheduled her appointments so 
she could leave work early and have Ryke bring her home after her therapy 
session to avoid having to contend with Viatrans (Our local paratransit 
service) picking her up late and bringing her home via the scenic route.

    I have an annual MRI scan at Sendero Imaging and use their courtesy 
transportation whenever I go for this procedure. They'll send you a very 
nice Lincoln Town Car to pick you up and take you back home when your 
procedure is finished. Ryke Physical Therapy and Sendero Imaging provide 
this service to patients free of charge.

    The next time you need to see a doctor or are sent for medical 
procedures see if you can be referred to facilities that provide curtesy 
transportation to patients needing it. Perhaps there are other types of 
businesses and/or service agencies and organizations which offer similar 
services to their consumers. This information could be gathered and posted 
to the affiliate's Web Site for the benefit of others. All the best.

Peter Donahue

 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jack Yahnke" <jack at seeinghandassociation.com>
To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia

Charlene,

Just to add to what Bob had to say.  Besides the local bus company that also
provides the para-transit service, which we both use, there is another
option in our area.  Faith In Action Caregivers (FIAC), a group of
volunteers, supported by a group of local churches, will pick you up, drop
you off, wait on you if necessary, and also provide other services if
needed.  All it takes  is a phone call 24 hrs. in advance.  It is totally
free. Maybe Keri can look into helping to form some community action group
similar to FIAC.  They work across county lines (unlike the bus company) and
will even transport you to appointments in Pittsburgh.  They are a godsend.
Good luck!

Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Smyth, Charlene R" <Charlene.R.Smyth at wv.gov>
To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 10:21 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia

> Thanks for the information, Bob.  I knew Wheeling had some public
> transportation but I didn't know exactly what and I hesitated to say
> with not knowing for sure.
>
> Charlene
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwv-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfbwv-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bob Hicks
> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 9:39 AM
> To: NFB of West Virginia Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia
>
> Hi Charlene.  Just for the record, Wheeling does have para-transit,
> although
> they try very hard, there are not enough reservations available to
> accommodate everyone.  We have public bus service Monday through
> Saturday,
> but nothing after 6 PM and nothing on Sunday.  We are fortunate in
> Wheeling,
> but it is not perfect, but it is better than most.  The SWG and the
> blind
> community in general is very limited as far as transportation is
> concerned.
> JMO
>
> Best regards,
>
> Bob Hicks
> Access Technology Specialist
> Seeing Hand Association, Inc.
> 304-232-4810
> <bob at seeinghandassociation.com>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "charlene smyth" <cs.nfbwv at frontier.com>
> To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2012 8:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia
>
>
>> Keri,
>>
>> I feel that West Virginia definitely needs transportation to get in
> and
>> out of the state, to other parts of the state, and in some areas.
>> Unfortunately when you are blind and live in West Virginia, you pretty
>
>> much have to move to an area that has good transportation such as
>> Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington,
> and
>> possibly a few other places.  I live in Clarksburg and work in
> Bridgeport
>> and we have a county bus, two taxies, and a Grayline out of Morgantown
>
>> that comes through here with stops in Fairmont, Morgantown, and two
> stops
>> in Pittsburgh at the bus station and the airport.  I know it shouldn't
>
>> have to be this way, but the reality is that blind people need to make
> up
>> their minds to move to an area with transportation instead of staying
>> stuck in an area where they are so dependent on others and more often
> than
>> not do without what they need or want.
>>
>> Charlene
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "keri" <wvucountrygirl729 at gmail.com>
>> To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 10:52 PM
>> Subject: [Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia
>>
>>
>>> greetings fellow listers,
>>>
>>> I wanted to address what I believe is the major issue in WV is
>>> transportation. In many areas there is no public transportation what
> so
>>> ever, or if there is it is unuseable to many for various reasons. For
>
>>> example. there is a local bus which might as well not exist in Mercer
>
>>> county. It only covers a few places in Bluefield, Princeton, and a
> stop
>>> in Athens. It offers medical services to anyone in the area but
>>> apparently I live only ten minutes away from Athens and they don't
> drive
>>> that far... So there services are completely useless to me. I as a
> blind
>>> person have to plan ahead and try to find someone to drive me where
> ever
>>> I go. Sure there is a cab company in Princeton, but I live about 20
>>> minutes to a half hour from princeton about 10 to 15 miles. Who can
> aford
>>> a few dollars per mile when they need to go somewhere. What I've seen
> is
>>> that Huntington is the most accessable town in the state. This is
> very
>>> sad because many of us are not only moving away from WV because our
>>> partic
>>> ular field is hard to come by for jobs here, but that the
> transportation
>>> is so lacking and almost impossible to work with.
>>> I'm still going to be stuck in WV for a while to come, and although I
>
>>> love WV I also hate it. I hate it because I can't go catch a bus or a
>
>>> cheap cab to just go somewhere on the spur of the moment if I choose.
> I
>>> have to constantly plan and always drag someone along with me. This
> makes
>>> adventuring and exploring diffucult.
>>>
>>> When traveling to other states and seeing what they have to offer not
>
>>> just to disabled but to everyone, and how it makes a difference in
> every
>>> day life it makes me realize just how downhill and behind our home
> state
>>> has become. I hate huge cities very much because of crowds and such,
> but
>>> I love them for their accessableity. Not everyone has friends or
> family
>>> to drive them. I can't even go out and get a job for myself because I
>
>>> have no transportation to get there. Here is the question I pose. How
> is
>>> someone supposed to get out there and try to work/go to school/be a
> part
>>> of the community with no way?
>>>
>>> Also, what can we do to solve this issue?
>>>
>>> I'm interested to read responses to this email. :)
>>>
>>> keri
>>>
>>> "Sometimes your nearness takes my breath away; and all the things I
> want
>>> to say can find no voice. Then, in silence, I can only hope my eyes
> will
>>> speak my heart."
>>> --Robert Sexton
>>>
>>> "For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every
> truth
>>> there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart
>
>>> somewhere to receive it."
>>> --Ivan Panin
>>>
>>> Find that guy that will pick up every piece of your shattered heart &
> put
>>> it back together; Replacing it with a piece of his.
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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>
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