Roy is a diabetic living in rural Mahoning County who had a stroke that left him blind. As part of his care, his doctor recently ordered him to start receiving dialysis treatments three times per week. Unfortunately, the facility he was sent to is in Trumbull County, roughly 25 miles away from his home, and being blind he was unsure how he would get to his appointments.
Although Roy has seven siblings who normally can help, he could not find transportation to his necessary appointments because their schedules did not work with the times of his treatments. Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership (MYCAP) Rural Services provided the needed transportation to his first treatment. They also coordinated with his social worker to move his treatments to a facility almost half the distance from his home, and adjusted his treatment schedule to a more convenient time.
Rural Support Services continues to transport him to his doctor’s visits, and also assists him and his 85 year-old mother with transportation to other errands. Roy is now able to receive all of his treatments to maintain his health and has even recommended MYCAP’s services to other dialysis patients.
For more information about Community Action programs in your area, visit www.oacaa.org. Note, not all Community Action Agencies offer transportation programs.