A lack of transportation can be a barrier to veterans needing health care, so a new program is providing free Uber rides to the Lebanon VA Medical Center for vets from Berks and other counties the facility serves.
Eligible veterans from southcentral Pennsylvania can now participate in VA Uber Health Connect — an initiative that provides supplemental transportation to and from medical appointments at VA hospitals and community clinics.
The initiative launched as a pilot program last year at 10 VA medical centers nationwide, and based on survey feedback from 2,300 veterans between March 2022 to January 2023, 83% stated they would have been unable to access their medical care without the program, officials said.
“The VA Uber Health Connect Initiative bridges the transportation gap by ensuring veterans have reliable transportation for their health care needs,” Dr. Indra Sandal, national lead for the initiative, said in a statement. “By offering ridesharing as an additional means of transportation, VA is helping veterans receive access to the best and soonest possible care — while still achieving cost savings.”
During the pilot program, VA Uber Health Connect completed more than 30,000 Uber rides covering 408,529 miles for veterans, saving the VA an estimated $35 million, officials said. The cost savings are in part from faster emergency department and inpatient discharges as well as closing the gap on an estimated 28,000 missed appointments.
This year, the program is expanding to nine new Veteran Integrated Service Networks and 60 VAMCs, including Lebanon, where it started May 3.
According to the American Hospital Association, 3.6 million people in the U.S. do not obtain medical care due to transportation challenges. Children, older adults and veterans are especially vulnerable to transportation barriers due to social isolation and underlying medical conditions and have a greater need for frequent clinician visits, the association said.
“This is a life-altering program the offers vulnerable veterans care — the moment they need it,” said Jennifer Stevey, mobility manager at the Lebanon VA. “It also advances our ability to offer more accessible, equitable health care to our local veteran community.”
She said it’s important veterans understand how the program works.
Veterans must request that their VA doctor or scheduler arrange their ride with Uber, or otherwise they may be responsible for the cost of the trip, she said.
Veterans or transportation teams interested in learning more about the VA Uber program should contact the Lebanon VA Medical Center at 1-800-409-8771.
In addition to Berks, the Lebanon VA covers Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill and York counties, and oversees community clinics in Wyomissing, Lancaster, Pottsville, York and Indiantown Gap.
Berks Veterans Director Ken Lebron said the initiative sounds like a great benefit for local veterans, many of whom have a difficult time finding rides to their medical appointments.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, transportation assistance that was provided by some local partners was halted as the VA refused to accept veterans who were coming to the hospital in shared rides, he said.
In addition to the new VA initiative, he said, there are still other organizations providing transportation to the hospital for veterans from Berks:
• The Veterans Coalition of Pennsylvania, 610- 372-8267.
• American Red Cross, 610-375-4383.
• Disabled American Veterans, 484-650-7932.
• Diakon Volunteer Home Care, 610-682-1412 (senior citizens only).
• Western Berks Shepherding Ministries, 610-670-5945 (senior citizens only).
Source: Berkshire mont
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