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

Tue Jun 26 18:43:45 UTC 2012

Maryland?  San Antonio?  Who knew?  Thanks, Anita; thanks, Peter.  Good 
points.  I know at least one of our local hospitals has a courtesy van that 
transports within the Greater Wheeling (WV) area.  Wow!  San Antonio, huh!

Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] transportation a major issue in West Virginia

> 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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>>
>> This is an official email from the State of West Virginia--WV.GOV.
>>
>>
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