KCSS Drivers Treat Passengers Like People
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Siara [email protected]
Kean made jokes with McNeal while he waited to hear her seatbelt click into place, allowing him to proceed to the route. McNeal has three destinations and Keen knows them all by heart.
KCSS has been providing door-to-door transportation for seniors since the early ’70s with the “Happy Wanderer” van, with the goal to avoid assisted living as long as possible. KCSS Executive Director David Neff said it takes a very special person to build relationships with the seniors and to be a driver for them.
“It’s not just a passenger, it’s a person,” Neff said. “Our drivers accommodate each personality.”
Keen has been a driver for more than three years and said his job is fulfilling. He said he has built some wonderful relationships with the seniors he transports.
He expects to give 15,000 rides to seniors throughout the county this fiscal year. He said there are three vans that transport seniors daily, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. He said all six vans could run daily if funds were available. Due to the funds deficit, KCSS meets the needs of the seniors and prioritizes their medical appointments first, then to nutrition and finally recreational needs. They suggest riders make a contribution, but if they can’t, they always still receive a ride.
Keen said at the end of the month, he notices seniors donating nickels, quarters and dimes because sometimes there is “more month than money.”
Even though Keen said medical and nutritional needs are most important, he said it is tough turning down a ride to a hair appointment because socializing and getting out of the home is still important. Sometimes, the KCSS transport is the senior’s retreat time, like McNeal, who cares for her husband in their home daily.
Keen has turned down 65 rides so far this year. He said as a driver they will do whatever it takes to transport a senior to their medical appointment, especially for dialysis, whether that means exceeding their hours or funds.
For some seniors, like McNeal, if KCSS didn’t provide transportation, she said she wouldn’t have another option and would miss all of her appointments. Keen said all of the drivers work together daily and communicate effectively to make sure each senior makes all of their appointments on time, even if that means picking up a senior nearby that wasn’t planned from the morning scheduling, or assisting other drivers with pick-ups. Although they are rarely late, sometimes the weather becomes an issue, and in that case the drivers communicate with the doctors to reassure it wasn’t the senior’s fault.
“One of the easiest parts for me is the drivers,” Neff said. “I can’t tell you how great they are.”
During McNeal’s day trip, Keen heard through the radio another senior was nearby and ready for pick-up. He picked up Sharon Irwin to assist the other drivers. Irwin heard about the KCSS transportation from a friend a while ago and has been using the service ever since, mainly for her medical appointments. She said she rides several times and already has all of her September appointments scheduled.
“I think you’re all wonderful,” Irwin said of the drivers.
After transporting Irwin back to her apartment, Keen drove toward town for McNeal to finish all of her errands. If they go grocery shopping, the driver drops the senior off at the grocery and waits for them outside. After they take their time and the senior exits the grocery store, the driver assists by carrying the bags back and loading them into the vans. Sometimes this is a small task with only a few bags, but Keen recalled one route where there were 63 bags of groceries between eight women on the van. The vans can carry one senior at a time, or up to 12 depending on the specific van.
Neff said the process for setting up transportation with KCSS is fairly simple. There is intake paperwork that must be filled out, but it can all be completed over the phone. He said they prefer to have a few weeks notice for the first ride to make scheduling more efficient, even though the schedule changes frequently. Keen said if there is paperwork that needs finished, he would even drive out to the residence to help finish it.
“We try to schedule smart and start early,” Keen said.
Keen said all of the drivers are licensed and they are all trained to use the wheelchair lift, and have CPR and first aid trainings frequently. He also said many of the seniors using the services have dialysis, and drivers can come in contact with blood, but they are trained and prepared for these situations. They also experience falls every once in a while, but Keen said all of the drivers are prepared for this, too.
KCSS is not a medical transport, but it transports seniors within the county and they can transport the senior’s certified service animals. The transport vehicles also accommodates for grandchildren, as long as they are old enough to use a seatbelt.
“Outside of bad weather and mechanical breakdowns, we who drive really do know that we have the best job in the world,” Keen said.
A job with many perks also can be devastating because sometimes a routine transport becomes an unplanned welfare check. Neff said that when drivers arrive to the residences, if a senior doesn’t answer the door, they call the police. Keen said there have been times where drivers arrived and found the seniors on the floor, passed out and even deceased. Keen said finding seniors like that is difficult, but he knows it could always be a possibility because they are an “end-of-life service.”
“This job can be hard on you,” Neff said. “When someone does pass, it’s hard on our drivers, it’s hard on all us. If it didn’t get to you, you’re in the wrong business.”
Neff said they receive positive feedback from families who are so grateful for their service. Some seniors have family who work during the day, or have family out of state, and some do not have family at all.
He said some seniors only use the service once a week, once a month or even just once period, but he’s happy that KCSS is at least an option to each of them. Neff encourages families to ride with KCSS so their family member can become more comfortable with the service if they are feeling hesitant.
“Public transit has become a real need for this county,” Keen said. “The demand is greater than our services can offer, we need an army of people who can help. We’re tired of being the best kept secret in the county.”
For more information, visit http://www.kosciuskoseniorservices.org.[[In-content Ad]]
Kean made jokes with McNeal while he waited to hear her seatbelt click into place, allowing him to proceed to the route. McNeal has three destinations and Keen knows them all by heart.
KCSS has been providing door-to-door transportation for seniors since the early ’70s with the “Happy Wanderer” van, with the goal to avoid assisted living as long as possible. KCSS Executive Director David Neff said it takes a very special person to build relationships with the seniors and to be a driver for them.
“It’s not just a passenger, it’s a person,” Neff said. “Our drivers accommodate each personality.”
Keen has been a driver for more than three years and said his job is fulfilling. He said he has built some wonderful relationships with the seniors he transports.
He expects to give 15,000 rides to seniors throughout the county this fiscal year. He said there are three vans that transport seniors daily, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. He said all six vans could run daily if funds were available. Due to the funds deficit, KCSS meets the needs of the seniors and prioritizes their medical appointments first, then to nutrition and finally recreational needs. They suggest riders make a contribution, but if they can’t, they always still receive a ride.
Keen said at the end of the month, he notices seniors donating nickels, quarters and dimes because sometimes there is “more month than money.”
Even though Keen said medical and nutritional needs are most important, he said it is tough turning down a ride to a hair appointment because socializing and getting out of the home is still important. Sometimes, the KCSS transport is the senior’s retreat time, like McNeal, who cares for her husband in their home daily.
Keen has turned down 65 rides so far this year. He said as a driver they will do whatever it takes to transport a senior to their medical appointment, especially for dialysis, whether that means exceeding their hours or funds.
For some seniors, like McNeal, if KCSS didn’t provide transportation, she said she wouldn’t have another option and would miss all of her appointments. Keen said all of the drivers work together daily and communicate effectively to make sure each senior makes all of their appointments on time, even if that means picking up a senior nearby that wasn’t planned from the morning scheduling, or assisting other drivers with pick-ups. Although they are rarely late, sometimes the weather becomes an issue, and in that case the drivers communicate with the doctors to reassure it wasn’t the senior’s fault.
“One of the easiest parts for me is the drivers,” Neff said. “I can’t tell you how great they are.”
During McNeal’s day trip, Keen heard through the radio another senior was nearby and ready for pick-up. He picked up Sharon Irwin to assist the other drivers. Irwin heard about the KCSS transportation from a friend a while ago and has been using the service ever since, mainly for her medical appointments. She said she rides several times and already has all of her September appointments scheduled.
“I think you’re all wonderful,” Irwin said of the drivers.
After transporting Irwin back to her apartment, Keen drove toward town for McNeal to finish all of her errands. If they go grocery shopping, the driver drops the senior off at the grocery and waits for them outside. After they take their time and the senior exits the grocery store, the driver assists by carrying the bags back and loading them into the vans. Sometimes this is a small task with only a few bags, but Keen recalled one route where there were 63 bags of groceries between eight women on the van. The vans can carry one senior at a time, or up to 12 depending on the specific van.
Neff said the process for setting up transportation with KCSS is fairly simple. There is intake paperwork that must be filled out, but it can all be completed over the phone. He said they prefer to have a few weeks notice for the first ride to make scheduling more efficient, even though the schedule changes frequently. Keen said if there is paperwork that needs finished, he would even drive out to the residence to help finish it.
“We try to schedule smart and start early,” Keen said.
Keen said all of the drivers are licensed and they are all trained to use the wheelchair lift, and have CPR and first aid trainings frequently. He also said many of the seniors using the services have dialysis, and drivers can come in contact with blood, but they are trained and prepared for these situations. They also experience falls every once in a while, but Keen said all of the drivers are prepared for this, too.
KCSS is not a medical transport, but it transports seniors within the county and they can transport the senior’s certified service animals. The transport vehicles also accommodates for grandchildren, as long as they are old enough to use a seatbelt.
“Outside of bad weather and mechanical breakdowns, we who drive really do know that we have the best job in the world,” Keen said.
A job with many perks also can be devastating because sometimes a routine transport becomes an unplanned welfare check. Neff said that when drivers arrive to the residences, if a senior doesn’t answer the door, they call the police. Keen said there have been times where drivers arrived and found the seniors on the floor, passed out and even deceased. Keen said finding seniors like that is difficult, but he knows it could always be a possibility because they are an “end-of-life service.”
“This job can be hard on you,” Neff said. “When someone does pass, it’s hard on our drivers, it’s hard on all us. If it didn’t get to you, you’re in the wrong business.”
Neff said they receive positive feedback from families who are so grateful for their service. Some seniors have family who work during the day, or have family out of state, and some do not have family at all.
He said some seniors only use the service once a week, once a month or even just once period, but he’s happy that KCSS is at least an option to each of them. Neff encourages families to ride with KCSS so their family member can become more comfortable with the service if they are feeling hesitant.
“Public transit has become a real need for this county,” Keen said. “The demand is greater than our services can offer, we need an army of people who can help. We’re tired of being the best kept secret in the county.”
For more information, visit http://www.kosciuskoseniorservices.org.[[In-content Ad]]
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