3 Things To Consider When Choosing A Transportation Service For Your Elderly Parent

Posted on: 20 December 2017

Making sure that your elderly parent gets to their doctor appointments and social commitments can be stressful unless you can rely on a transportation service to handle most of the traveling for you. Here are three things to consider when choosing a medical transportation service that should ensure convenience as time goes on:

Flexible Scheduling

An important aspect to consider when choosing a transportation service for your elderly parent is flexible scheduling. You may have a good idea of where your parent will need to in a coming week or month, but things can change and you might find that your parent wants to go somewhere else or needs to change an appointment date at the last minute. In these cases, you should be able to schedule the extra rides or make changes to the schedule any time you need to. Make sure that the transportation company you decide to hire offers flexible and last-minute scheduling without penalty.

Appointment Reminders

In addition to flexible scheduling, the transportation company you hire for your elderly parent should offer appointment reminders to ensure that a commitment is never missed throughout the month. Whether it's a phonecall or email, you should get a reminder about any scheduled trips a day or two ahead of time if you and your parent needs it. Every company is different, so you may have to request a reminder each time you schedule a transport appointment, or you might just have to opt in to get reminders for all appointments. Find out what kind of appointment reminders your transportation company offers and what you need to do in order to ensure that you get the reminders that you need.

Wheelchair Accessibility

Another thing to think about when choosing a transportation company to service your parent is wheelchair accessibility. Even if your parent doesn't need a wheelchair now, there's a chance that they will end up using one at some point in the future – and not all transportation companies operate vehicles that are capable of carrying wheelchairs. Make sure that the company you hire has a wheelchair lift installed on at least one of their vehicles so your parent can travel while sitting inside their chair. At the very least, the company should provide space for a folded up wheelchair so it can be used at your parent's destination.

With these considerations in mind, you should be able to find a reliable transportation company to safely get your parent where they need to go throughout the month.

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