WESTFIELD – The Baystate Noble Patient Transport Van Service program that is provided by Noble Hospital is set to be discontinued later this month.
Ronald Bryant, President and CEO
According to Brendan Monahan, the Manager of Public Affairs at Baystate Health, the last day that the service can be used is Thursday Oct. 27.
Baysate has had to make the decision primarily due to a lack of Medicaid reimbursements. In order for Baystate to take care of the reimbursement issue, the transportation service had to be removed.
“We have been facing a large budget deficit,” said Monahan.
Although Monahan knows how beneficial the service was to a number of elderly in the community, Baystate has to focus on the main priority.
“Our business is to take care of our patients medically,” said Monahan. “We wish we could continue but we have to focus our resources on the patient care aspect of our business.”
Westfield Council on Aging Executive Director Tina Gorman has several clients that use the transportation service provided by Noble Hospital on a daily basis. (WNG File Photo)
Noble Hospital does have community partners for transportation needs and Baystate will be working with them to seek out other possible options.
The Noble Patient Transport Van Service program started several years ago under the direction of Ron Bryant, who is the President of Noble Hospital.
With the program officially being suspended, it affects a number of people throughout the community, including elderly from the Council on Aging in Westfield.
Tina Gorman, the Executive Director of the Council on Aging in Westfield, is aware of the impact the disconnection of the program will have on her clients at the senior center.
“We’re going to take a hit,” said Gorman. “That’s going to impact our volunteers and our program and what we’re trying to do.”
According to Gorman, she has several clients who regularly use the Noble transportation service for a variety of issues. Whether it is a Coumadin check or routine lab work, clients would rely on the service that Noble would provide.
As Gorman strongly believes that most of her clients will continue to use the service until it is disconnected on Oct. 27, the options will then be limited.
The PVTA (Pioneer Valley Transit Authority) has a van service, but costs $2.50 each way for seniors.
At the Council on Aging in Westfield, there is a companion program but in order to use the service, you have to qualify for the program.
Gorman explained that an interested individual for the program will have to go through an assessment and an employee will decide if that person is a good fit for the program.
There are two types of volunteers in the companion program. One kind of volunteer is paired up with a specific client and in some cases, will be paired up together for several years. Another type of volunteer is one who will primarily help clients with medical issues on an as needed basis.
Gorman stressed the difficulty with only so many volunteers for the program.
“We only have so many volunteers to go around,” said Gorman. “It’s not like we have an unlimited supply of volunteers.”
Moving forward with the companion program, Gorman and the rest of her staff will continue to find ways to help their clients.
Knowing that the transportation service will be discontinued in less than a month, Gorman remembers when it first started and the impact it had on her clients.
“We were just over the top excited,” said Gorman. “It was a really great service for our area seniors.”
