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IH, hospice team for volunteer driver program

Patients in the Boundary will be able to attend various appointments with the aid of volunteer drivers
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From L-R: Liz Stewart

The Boundary Community Hospice Association and Interior Health (IH) are partnering to provide a new volunteer driver service for patients in the Boundary wishing to go to various appointments.

“The Boundary Area Volunteer Driver Program is designed to give citizens of Grand Forks, Christina Lake, Greenwood, Midway, Rock Creek and surrounding rural areas, requiring assistance (transportation) to medical appointments or visits to care centres,” explained Lisa Fichtenberg, the service’s manager and office manager for the Boundary Community Hospice Association.

“The main locations that they go to would be Castlegar, Trail, Nelson, Penticton, Kelowna or to Grand Forks, from say Christina Lake. There are also people in need of rides to go to Vancouver and other bigger centres.”

Volunteer drivers will be available Monday through Friday but if someone has an appointment at another time it will be taken into consideration.

Fichtenberg said that clients can use the program if they are referred by a medical practitioner, community care worker and self referrals could be a possibility as well.

According to Brent Hobbs, IH’s regional director of patient transportation services, the program has been used in areas with bigger population base.

“This is a government initiative that dates back to 2006 and it’s called the Health Connections program and the goal of the program is to connect patients who require assistance with travel to medical appointments in the urban centres,” Hobbs said.

Fichtenberg said that the service uses volunteer drivers and an honorarium is provided (based on kilometres driven) and is based on a 35¢ per kilometre rate.

Clients are responsible for paying drivers the honorarium but subsidies are available for those who need it and the Ministry of Social Services also offers subsidies to the tune of 20¢ per kilometre for social service recipients or those collecting a pension.

She said some people may be able to be subsidized the full amount depending on individual situation.

Rates vary depending on destination but someone seeking to go from Grand Forks to somewhere in town would pay $10, while a trip to Kelowna would cost $140 and the cost of trips to Castlegar, Trail and Nelson would cost $65, $75 and $95 respectively.

Fichtenberg said that while the drivers are volunteers, they must meet certain criteria.

“They have to attend volunteer training seminars, agree to a volunteer code of conduct, (they must have) vehicles that are in good working condition and have to hold adequate car insurance, a minimum $2 million liability,” she said, adding that criminal record checks are made on a biennial basis and drivers are well screened.

Fichtenberg said that a contract is in place for 17 months and IH will be providing the funding.

“The funding will be between $20,000 and $25,000 a year,” said Hobbs.

The Boundary Area Volunteer Driver Program will replace an old volunteer driver program that was being run by hospice and the new phone number to call is 250-584-4618.

More information at www.facebook.com/getaride.



Karl Yu

About the Author: Karl Yu

After interning at Vancouver Metro free daily newspaper, I joined Black Press in 2010.
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