Wanted: drivers for medical appointments
Gary Hammond
The mission of Senior Village at SaddleBrooke is to provide non-medical support and services “to help SaddleBrooke residents stay in their homes as long as they can.” We are an Arizona 501(C)(3) non-profit organization. Our transportation study, “What If I Can No Longer Drive?” resulted in many informed responses. The stated goal of the study was to identify areas in which volunteers may be helpful and commercial services may be needed to provide needed transportation services. Based on study responses The Village will begin recruiting volunteer drivers for medical appointments, the number one request of SaddleBrooke residents. We plan to introduce a volunteer driver medical appointment program in the second quarter. Volunteer drivers will not fully resolve SaddleBrooke’s transportation issues, especially for those with driving limitations, but we intend to improve it.
But first we need volunteer drivers. We will design the medical appointments program based on the number of volunteer drivers who sign up and of the interests the volunteers may have in terms of frequency and distances they are prepared to drive. We need to balance delivery of our service with the availability of volunteer driver resources. All volunteer drivers will need to pass background and driving record checks, paid by the Village.
Residents requesting services must be Villagers, members of Senior Village at SaddleBrooke. There will be a modest annual membership fee per household, to be determined. The transportation will be provided by volunteers at no cost, although there will be some limits to usage.
To volunteer as a medical appointment driver, contact Ron Bechky at email [email protected] or 349-0898.
Other Transportation Needs: Our study identified many additional transportation needs that Senior Village will address after the medical appointments service is established. These suggestions included:
A service between SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch, to Bashas’ for shopping and to connect with the SunTran schedule
A van service for shopping and other destinations in Oro Valley and Tucson
General transportation within SaddleBrooke to social and cultural activities such as Friends of the SaddleBrooke Libraries events.