Hines VA receives cancer patient transportation grant
Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Beneficiary Travel department received a $10,000 grant from the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program to provide transportation for Veterans with cancer who do not have a ride or cannot drive themselves.
"A Veteran shouldn't worry about how to get to an appointment, especially someone receiving critical cancer treatments," said Angela Morris, Hines VA associate director of resources. "This generous grant from the American Cancer Society offers Hines VA even more resources to help our nation's heroes in need."
Hines VA already has a robust transportation program to assist Veterans in need. In 2021, the department provided more than 100,000 trips to eligible Veterans, including a small number of Veterans who don’t typically qualify for transportation assistance, according to Phillip Walton, Hines VA acting beneficiary travel service chief.
Veterans unable to receive transportation assistance usually live outside Hines VA’s coverage area, according to Walton. The Road to Recovery grant helps hospitals, like Hines VA, ensure all Veterans can attend their medical appointments.
“Our goal is to overcome those transportation barriers that stand between our nation's heroes, proper health care and an improved quality of life by providing the most convenient and timely transportation service, particularly to those Veterans who are receiving treatment for cancer,” Walton wrote in the grant application.
For more information or to volunteer to drive for the Road to Recovery, visit: https://www.cancer.org/support-programs-and-services/road-to-recovery.h…