ORANJ

2010 TRANSPORTATION SURVEY
November, 2010

A survey was conducted of all CCRCs that were members of ORANJ regarding transportation programs for their residents. The main questions dealt with transportation destinations, mileage restrictions, costs, and procedures to arrange for transportation. The questionnaire was sent to all 24 CCRCs during the summer of 2010 and 23 responded. Unfortunately, we do not know whether the person who filled out the questionnaire was knowledgeable, or merely a resident of the CCRC.

All responding CCRCs have one or more vans/buses for medical appointments and food shopping. Most of the CCRCs have transportation to malls, cultural events, and other destinations with the exception of one CCRC who does not provide transportation to any cultural event. 11 facilities also make available a van for special CCRC meetings held outside the immediate vicinity.

Food shopping trips were free for all CCRCs and 8 CCRCs provided free trips for medical purposes within the local area. Distant medical appointments had fees depending on mileage and the time involved. Charges for transportation to cultural events were based on distance and some CCRCs had an hourly rate for a driver. One CCRC had a fee only if the trip required the use of a bus not belonging to the community. Dollar amounts varied greatly. One facility provides a rented limo for attending cultural events at $20-$25 for each resident using the limo. Another has medical costs at $10 one-way for a trip of 5-10 miles and $20 for a trip beyond 10-15 miles. One CCRC has rates based on a 5 mile radius-$10, 10 mile radius-$20, 20 mile radius-$30, 20-50 mile radius-$40.

One topic of special interest was the availability of transportation on evenings and weekends. 5 CCRCs did not provide such services. 18 mentioned various restrictions. For instance, some reported that it depends on the availability of a driver at the time required; others placed a minimum on the number of residents requiring a van for a cultural event. One offered transportation only through an outside vendor and one has a staff member on-call to pick up residents from the hospital on a weekend or evening.

All respondents answered that their community had a transportation scheduler/coordinator with a fixed schedule for food shopping and for many facilities medical appointments were listed on specific days. The procedure to obtain transportation varies considerably. In some CCRCs the resident who wishes transportation for medical trips must call the transportation office, or a medical coordinator, or a Resident Services Coordinator depending on who is in charge of such a service. CCRCs varied in the length of time required when making a request for medical trips. One facility requires 7 days notification, another 3 days, some 2 days. Most CCRCs have a designated sign-up sheet for cultural events, grocery stores, malls.

Destinations are numerous. In addition to vans for local events, some CCRCs provide transportation to the polls on election day, to New York and Philadelphia museums, concerts, airports, churches, train stations, libraries and zoos. One facility provides a van for leisure shopping on Sundays. Apparently, no one has a van that operates on Saturdays.

The number of trips a month made by a van was of interest. The breakdown did not differentiate between medical and other requests but on an average the number of requests for transportation varied, mostly in consideration of the size of the CCRC. According to one facility, 325 trips for medical only, another reported 150 for grocery and errands, and one facility reported “hundreds” but the range was between 40 and 280 with the least amount of trips at 10-15.

Another topic of interest was whether the CCRCs have volunteer drivers. 8 CCRCs have a list of residents who are willing to provide such help. 4 facilities require that a resident sign a consent form when using the volunteer service. 6 CCRCs have a designated contact person who arranges this service. In other CCRCs arrangements are made directly between the resident who requests a ride and the driver who will provide such a ride. The CCRC does not accept any responsibility for these volunteer drivers.

The results of the survey show that all CCRCs have a transportation program for their residents. The most common destinations are medical facilities and local shopping. Transportation for food shopping is always free and for some facilities local medical appointments are free depending on distance and 14 CCRCs do not charge for trips to cultural events. The amounts charged vary considerably among the CCRCs who responded.

Transportation Survey Questionnaire

Part One - CCRC Management

1. Does your CCRC provide resident transportation via van/bus? Yes____No_____
...If yes, what are the destinations?
......Medical appointments Yes_____No______ Free_____ Charge_____
......Food Shopping Yes_____No______ Free_____ Charge_____
......Local cultural events Yes_____No______ Free_____ Charge_____
......Special CCRC meetings Yes_____No______ Free_____ Charge_____
......Other destinations? Please list
2. What are the brief general procedures to arrange transport? Please describe
3. Is there a transportation scheduler/coordinator? Yes___No___
4. Are there people, mileage, or scope limits? Yes____ No____
...If yes, please list these
5 . Is there a fixed schedule? Yes____No___
If no, briefly describe schedule arrangements
6. Can special arrangements be made for evenings or weekends? Yes____No____
...If yes, please describe
7. Are there charges to the residents for transportation? Yes_____No______
...If yes, please indicate rates, etc.
8. How many requests for transportation are handled in a given month?

Part Two - Residents who volunteer to provide transporation

1. Does your CCRC utilize volunteer residents for transportation? Yes____No____
...If yes, what is the number of available drivers?
2. Are there skill requirements for drivers? Yes___No___
...If yes, please list these
3. Do drivers use a consent form? Yes___No___
4. Is there a contact person to arrange transport? Yes___No__
5. Briefly describe procedure for arranging transport
6. Are there car liability insurance requirements? Yes____No_
...If yes, please list
7. How many requests for transportation are handled in a given month?