OVAHCS’s Rideshare Program Assists Thousands of Veterans in Critical Need By Melanie L. Thomas, MBA Public Affairs Officer Orlando VA Healthcare System

The OVAHCS Homeless Program was the first area within the healthcare system to adopt rideshare.

“Once I heard about this option for Veterans to independently get to critical appointments, it was a no-brainer,” said OVAHCS Homeless Program Coordinator, Jina Thalmann. “Not only has this program been good for Veterans who need it, but it has been great for case managers. They now have more time for Veterans who have intensive needs. It has been life changing overall!”

Veterans involved in the homeless program are not the only ones benefiting from this valuable resource. The program has spread to other areas of the health system now as well.

 

“Our emergency department seemed to always be struggling with patients who would present for urgent or emergent care and then after receiving treatment, they would have no way to get home safely due to personal transportation issues,” said Rachelle Flamio, OVAHCS social work supervisor. “They either had no vehicle, no loved one to come pick them up, did not qualify for beneficiary travel, or did not have the financial means to schedule a ride home for themselves.”

The emergency department was not the only area of the medical center where staff were challenged, assisting Veterans in critical need who had no transportation.

OVAHCS Nurse Manager, Pamela Kalemba explains that “Prior to implementing the rideshare program, some Veterans would be admitted for inpatient treatment and then, at discharge, not be able to find a way home. We’d have to extend their stay with us until transportation services could be arranged for them.”

Since implementing the program in 2021, the OVAHCS has worked to identify other avenues to utilize the program to benefit Veterans.  

According to Marsha Latham, OVAHCS Social Work Supervisor at the Viera VA Outpatient Clinic, Veterans have also benefited from the program by receiving transportation to and from procedures scheduled at the main medical center in Lake Nona.

She explains that, “The rideshare program has been invaluable to many older Veterans who come into the clinic for primary and mental health care services, but then need to be seen at the Orlando VA Medical Center in Lake Nona for an inpatient procedure requiring them to be driven to and from.”

The rideshare program originated in 2017 at the Boston VA Healthcare System as a program assisting homeless Veterans. Charles Franklin, Innovation Project Manager for the VA New England Center for Innovation Excellence has worked to build up the program nationally.

“In 2018 we started a seed project for homeless Veterans at two VA healthcare systems and since then, we’ve spread the program to help Veterans return to work, for use getting home from inpatient stays and emergency room visits and are now working to assist Veterans in critical need, with substance use disorder, and who are dealing with food insecurity,” said Franklin. “Now, all VA networks across the country have access to this needed resource.”

For more information about the Rideshare program, please contact Innovation Project Manager for the VA New England Center for Innovation and Excellence at: Charles.Franklin2@va.gov.

To date, the OVAHCS has coordinated thousands of rideshare arrangements for Veterans in critical need. The rideshare program allows for both scheduled and flexible transportation, and lessens the burden on Veterans requiring medical treatment. OVAHCS staff coordinate rideshare arrangements for Veterans when all other resources have been exhausted, and when no other options are available. Veterans receiving care at the OVAHCS do need to meet certain criteria to be considered eligible for the program and must be in the process of being discharged from the emergency department, an inpatient stay, be scheduled for a follow-up appointment related to a recent hospital stay or be scheduled for an upcoming procedure. This service cannot be utilized for emergency medical needs.
 

Melanie Thomas, Public Affairs Officer

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