Transportation: Charter Health Care Transportation

Rating 2 out of 5 stars

Charter Health Transportation

If you are insured through Charter Health, you can get door-to-door transportation for medical appointments and subsidized Metro fares.  Charter requires that rides are scheduled 48 hours in advance. Call 202-408-4728 or toll free at 1-800-375-3485 to schedule your ride.

Website: Here is info about their transportation services. Here is a pdf document that has their contact information for transportation services. Here is their main page.

Criteria: Charter Health insurance carrier, DC resident.

Geography: DC

Tricks of the Trade:

1. To make a reservation call the above number Monday - Friday from 7 am to 6 pm.
2. They ask for 2 days advanced notice but are usually able to schedule with 24 hours notice.
3. When they used to provide bus tokens, they would mail them to patients.  I'm not sure if they mail metro cards to patients now.  If you know, please leave a comment.

Please leave a comment.  How well does this service get your patients to and from their medical appointments?  What do your patients say about their experience?  How would you rate this resource?

Transportation: Washington Elderly Handicapped Transportation Services (WHETS)

Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Washington Elderly Handicapped Transportation Services (WHETS)

WEHTS is a great service for elderly and handicapped people in DC, however it has some drawbacks.

It is great because it is FREE.  It should be used for transportation to and from medical appointments, group shopping trips and any personal errands (as long as the errands relate to income benefits and housing).  Clients can arrange their own rides with this service, which is empowering and takes some burden off the social service provider's plate.

Drawbacks - 

1. I get conflicting information about the hours of operation.  I've heard that it operates Monday - Fridays from 630 am - 600 pm.  That would be ideal.  However, I've also heard that it operates M-F from 10 am to 4 pm.  Inconsistent information is a drawback for sure.
2. I get conflicting information about the number of days lead time required to make a reservation.  Sometimes I hear that it is four days (which is almost an entire week!) and other times I hear that it is 24 hours.  Regardless, call when you know your client may need a ride and see what they say.

Website: Here is the site from the DC government.  A senior is enrolled in this service by calling a "lead agency" in the ward the senior resides.  You can find the lead agency here.  Once you've found the ward the senior lives in and the lead agency in their ward, phone the lead agency and enroll the senior.

Criteria: A DC resident who is 60 years old or older.

Tricks of the Trade:

1. Get to know a few drivers by greeting them curb side.  They are usually willing to look out for your clients if you ask them too.
2. While the requirement is 4 days notice before any ride is given, there is usually enough flexibility to schedule next day rides.

What has your experience been with WEHTS?  Do you have any clarifying information?  Please leave a comment and share your experiences.

Transportation: Medical Transportation Management (MTM)

Medical Transportation Management or MTM

MTM provides free door-to-door transportation for DC Medicaid patients.  A Social Worker has to complete the application on the patient's behalf.

Rides should be scheduled about 3 days before the patient’s appointment.  To schedule a ride call 1-866-796-0601. Each patient is allowed one caregiver to accompany them to their appointment.  Please inform the MTM operator when scheduling your appointment if a caregiver will accompany you.

Website: Main site.  I'm not positive that this is the site for DC patients.  I know this service provider is nationwide and can't find a website for their DC office.

Criteria: This service is only for DC residents with DC Medicaid.

Tricks of the Trade:

1. MTM gets a 1 out of 5.  They are almost always late.  Sometimes pick up other patients en route, which can create a major delay and the patients frequently complain about the attitude of the driver and the cleanliness of the vehicle. I honestly feel bad referring people to MTM but sometimes that is all there is.

Do you know of their DC website?  Have you had similarly bad experiences or perhaps you've had good experiences   Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Food: Food and Friends

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

People are often referred to me for "financial assistance."  When I realized there was very little I could do to put more cash in people's hands, I began to problem solve.  Which of their expenses could I help them cut so they could have more cash?  I found myself asking them about all sorts of issues and found that Food and Friends was one of the best resources I could offer.  If someone can save 50-100 dollars per month on food, they would have more money for the other important items they needed.

Website: http://www.foodandfriends.org

Criteria: Have a diagnosis of cancer (any type) or HIV/AIDS.  Here is their eligibility check list.

Geography: They serve people in DC, MD and Northern Virginia.

Tricks of the Trade:

1. Quin Grier (sGrier (at) foodandfriends (dot) org) the intake coordinator is awesome.  Call her with any questions.  She returns messages quickly and is very knowledgeable about other services if your clients doesn't meet the qualifying criteria for Food and Friends.
2. The food has to be handed off to a person and cannot be left on a door step or stoop in an apartment building.  Make sure the client understands this and has someone who can pick up the food if they are unable for some reason.
3. The client can choose from prepared meals or groceries.  I've found that some people prefer to cook their own food, as would I.

Has Quin been as big a help to you as she has to me?  Did you know they served people with only HIV/AIDS and cancer?  Leave a comment...make this post better.

Transportation: MetroAccess

Rating: 2.5 out of 3 stars

When I worked at a local hospital, patients always had a hard time getting to and from their houses for their appointments.  Doctors would routinely refer patients to me for transportation assistance.  There are many transportation resources in the DC area so I would usually begin with MetroAccess.  I would begin with this because the patients might be disabled or temporarily disabled, which is the qualifying criteria to use MetroAccess.

Website: MetroAccess and this is the application

Criteria: MetroAccess is for people who are handicap or disabled.

Tricks of the Trade:

1. A medical professional has to sign the application.  This includes: Physician, Physician’s Assistant, Certified Nurse Practitioner, Optometrist (visual disabilities only), Podiatrist (disabilities of the foot and ankle only) or, Licensed Clinical Psychologist (Psychiatric disabilities only).
2. The applicant has to get an appointment with MetroAccess and appear in person (unless severely disabled) before the applicant can utilize the service
3. To by pass point number two, when you call to schedule your appointment, ask for a "pending MetroAccess number."  This will allow you to use the services before your interview.
4. People who are temporarily disabled qualify. For example, if someone has cancer and they will be in treatment for a year but then back to normal, they qualify.

Do you know any other tricks of the trade? Was this helpful to you?  Please leave a comment.

Welcome to Sky's Binder

I'm upset.

I've been a Social Worker for a few years now and have struggled since day one to provide reliable resource referrals to my clients.  My colleagues are my most trusted source of information for resources.  I've found that almost everyone has a beloved binder.  That binder is their bible of resources.  So I created this blog, skysbinder.blogspot.com, to make my binder public and to begin sharing the valuable resources I've found for clients.

I hope that every reader will share at least one resource in the comments section of my upcoming posts.  My hope is to create a community of professionals who openly share their resources so that our clients can get better, more relevant services and the professional community is renewed. I want you to have access to my binder and I would love to learn some of the resources hidden away in your precious binders.