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By Cindy Bevington
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The Community Transportation Network, a nonprofit organization that provides specialized medical transportation primarily in Fort Wayne and Allen County, has provided nearly 100,000 medical trips for seniors and people with all kinds of special needs since 2000.
Becky Weimerskirch, CTN’s executive director since 2004, has been involved with the organization since its inception.
“I was employed at Turnstone, and we served as a kind of an incubator for CTN,” Weimerskirch said. “How it started was we knew a lot of organizations and individuals were struggling with transportation needs. In fact, it was so evident that transportation was such an access problem that a task force was convened with some of these organizations and our funders, for example, the United Way.
“It was from there that we decided to form a new nonprofit that could specifi cally make more efficient use of this resource.”
Knowing that medical transportation was a priority, the newly formed CTN obtained funding from various grant sources and worked to expand its capacity, until 2006 when it partnered with Turnstone to operate its fleet in collaboration with CTN’s.
The plan doubled the size of CTN’s fleet and resulted in cost-effective transportation for Turnstone clients and other riders accessing medical services through the community. For example, a Turnstone vehicle operated by CTN could transport three riders going to Turnstone, two other riders going to Park Center, two more going to dialysis and one going to the doctor.
“And now, in the last five years we have nearly tripled in size, and have been able to help more groups and provide more services, all while continually lowering the cost of providing those services,” Weimerskirch said. “We have formed key partnerships with Turnstone as well as Community Action’s Head Start program to provide more transportation with those two agencies.
“It’s been an incredible success.”
CTN operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with extended holiday hours for special needs such as dialysis. With community funding support and volunteers, the cost of each trip is discounted for the clients who visit doctors, dentists, outpatient clinics, pharmacies and more.
Each year, CTN serves 500 to 650 people, 40 percent of whom are minorities. Half of the riders are over age 60, and 17 percent of the current riders have made more than 100 trips annually. Over time, the community support and scheduling efficiencies have increased and the cost per trip has decreased. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, CTN provided 20,000 medical trips.
“This service is affordable, accessible and dependable. Our level of services includes door-through-door, arm-in-arm, hand-to-hand passenger assistance,” the agency said in its Health Care Heroes nomination letter.
CTN plans to expand regionally within the next five years. The group also will implement a new program called “Senior Keys,” in which people who don’t want to drive anymore or who need to stop driving donate their vehicles to CTN.
“What we will do, then, is use them to provide transportation for our clients with volunteer drivers,” Weimerskirch said. “And for the people who donate the cars, we will give them an account with us credited with the (Kelley) Blue Book value of their car.”
“We also will work to sustain what we’ve been doing. We are very pleased to get this recognition, and we certainly want to thank all our donors, collaborators and our riders.”
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