It’s not an ambulance, fire truck or other rescue vehicle.
But to its new occupants, the plain white eight-passenger van is “a life safer.”
Tuesday, the Whidbey Veterans Resource Center in Langley completed its first test drive of a long-needed service helping veterans access medical care.
In a van provided by Island Transit, six veterans were driven to the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in downtown Seattle where they scattered to various clinics before being shuttled back home.
“I successfully went to three appointments today,” Terri Marie Desrosiers said afterward. “I do not drive on the other side. Before I had to take Island Transit to the ferry, then the train and bus to get to the hospital. This is a lifesaver.”
The service is free to veterans and relies on trained volunteer drivers. Island County has the highest number of veterans per capita in the state, estimates range from 14,000 to 17,000.
The Whidbey Veterans Resource Center is the second nonprofit organization benefiting from RideLink, a new partnership program launched by Island Transit.
Island Senior Resources was the first to receive a van, said Julie Lloyd of Island Transit who oversees the RideLink program. People wanting to drive RideLink vans must pass a series of reviews and training.
The program is exclusive to nonprofits and aimed at helping Whidbey Island residents get to social service programs, activities and appointments.
But figuring out how to get six people to various medical appointments on time and in a sprawling hospital is different than coordinating a drive to an event.
“It’s like mission planning,” said Dana Sawyers, coordinator for the Whidbey Veterans Resource Center. “We have to know who needs to go to which clinic and figure out the logistics, planning and timing.”
There’s also another challenge.
“It’s a big mysterious place and it’s very intimidating,” Gene Berg said of the crowded regional medical center, officially called VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle Division. It provides comprehensive care to more than 105,000 veterans across nine facilities in Western Washington.
Berg is trained as a driver, dubbed the “pilot,” and he also volunteers as a “co-pilot” who navigates for the driver and then for the vets inside the confusing hospital.
It can be particularly jarring for older vets and those with disabilities, including hearing loss, to navigate all the hallways and get to referred services, such as radiology, blood tests and prosthetics, Sawyers added.
That’s why all participants need to know the plan, she said, and name a rally point. (Cell phones don’t work inside.)
“I’ve gotten lost in there,” admitted Kat Ersch who has driven vets to VA appointments for years.
She wants to make sure veterans know about their health care benefits and she helps with access because of the personal experience of her late husband, Bill Davison, a 22-year Navy vet. Ersch said he didn’t receive the level of health care he was entitled to during his final days struggling with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
Island Transit takes care of preventative maintenance while the nonprofit groups pay for fuel and day-to-day upkeep. Depending on the number of miles driven, costs could range from $8,000 to $16,000 for the Veterans Resource Center trips, Sawyers estimated.
Sawyers expects the South Whidbey service will expand to more than once a week. Oak Harbor’s Disabled American Veterans office also offers transportation to health care services, primarily for North Whidbey residents.
“The two programs, while separate, really work together to support all of Whidbey Island, since access to transportation is a big part of access to VA health care,” Sawyers said.
Call Whidbey Veterans Resource Center at 360-320-9008 to sign-up for the van service. Those wanting to volunteer or help fund the service should also call. The center is located in the back of South Whidbey Community Center, the former Langley Middle School, 723 Camano Ave., Room 403, Building C. More information: www.whidbeyvrc.org
