Finding the best non-emergency medical transportation for disabled elderly patients just got a lot easier with these 6 questions.

1. Do You Offer Door-Through-Door Services?

If a patient needs more than just a ride, but compassionate and genuine support getting in and out of their home or appointment, you’ll want to hire a service that provides door-through-door services. Not all transportation services offer this, even companies that specialize in senior care may fail to provide this service or upcharge you an arm and a leg if you need it. It’s normal to pay an additional fee for door-through-door services, but shop around to make sure charges are competitively priced.

2. What Are Your Fees?

You can never assume that every senior transportation service is going to charge the same fees. Instead, these fees vary wildly even within the same area. Are you being charged by miles, time? Is it a flat fee, or predicted estimate? Knowing all of these things up front helps you to determine if you are getting an affordable, fair deal or not.

3. Are Drivers Credentialed? What Type Of Experience Do They Have?

Who is driving you or your beloved senior to and from doctor appointments? This is a vital question, as the quality of the driver could vary greatly. In order to ensure your loved one is safe in an emergency, drivers should be knowledgeable in CPR, First-Aid and defensive driving.

In order to work with seniors and provide a truly friendly and positive experience, drivers should have some level of senior sensitivity training.  They should also have plenty of first-hand experience working with seniors of varying mobility.

Are drivers drug tested? Smoke free? These might seem like invasive things to ask, but you can never be too careful.

Find out how many drivers are assigned to each patient. For stretcher patients, there should always be at least two staff members on hand.  

4. What Vehicles Are You Working With?

The driver and the actual vehicle predict the overall safety and comfort of elderly patients.

  • Find out what year, make and model vehicles a company operates. Newer model vehicles are more likely to follow the latest guidelines for non-emergency medical transportation of stretchers and wheelchairs. It’s still important to inquire about updated safety features even if a company is operating newer vans.
  • Are vehicles fully loaded with driver monitoring systems? Are drivers ever monitored for safe driving practices? In order to monitor best driving practices, vehicles should be outfitted with a system that tracks speed, acceleration, braking and more.
  • Inquire about wheelchair or stretcher transportation equipment in vehicles, depending on which one a patient will require.
  • How often are vehicles cleaned and serviced? It doesn’t take long for a small issue to turn into a dangerous scenario. That’s why frequent cleaning and servicing of all vehicles is adamant. Vehicles should be looked over on a regular basis and deep cleaned at least once a week. When dealing with elderly patients with weaker immune systems it’s more important than ever to prevent the potential for spreading germs.

5. What Services Do You Offer?

Transportation companies may offer local and long distance, or only one or the other. A company that offers both will help simplify things because it allows the same trusted team to take care of our patients time and time again.

For bariatric patients it’s important to inquire about the transportation equipment and services provided. Do they adhere to the standards necessary to safely and comfortably transport bariatric patients, and in what ways?

Stretcher, wheelchair and ambulatory transportation are other vital services to inquire about. Ask how wheelchairs and stretchers are loaded into vehicles, as well as how this improves comfort and safety for patients. 

6. Do You Love What You Do?

The secret to doing the best job every time is to love what you do. We are passionate about giving all patients the safest and most comfortable ride on the road. Our passion shines through our interactions with patients, as well as the attention to detail we put into every aspect of the experience; from door-through-door pick up service to keeping our vehicles detailed and maintained to perfection.  There’s a reason they call us Stellar, that’s exactly what we are!