|
home > healthworks
Getting to an appointment at a hospital or doctor's office is usually
not much fun. Wouldn't it be great to get door to door service from you
car to the entrance? Thanks to the jitney at Saint Joseph Health Center,
you can.
Volunteers drive the jitney (golf carts that seat six) through the parking
lots of the health center and medical buildings, looking for riders. The
jitneys run on weekdays year round.
"I like it," says Ben Flucke, volunteer. "You meet a lot of nice people.
Sometimes, parking is an issue for people and they really need help. It's
nice to be able to offer them a ride. Mothers with young children also
really appreciate the shuttle."
Flucke stops for a young woman lugging an infant in a carrier and a diaper
bag. "I love the service," she says. "The drivers are always so nice.
My oldest child is five and he loves it! He always asks, 'Can we ride?
Can we ride?' It's just a fun part of coming here."
The jitney carries about 300 riders each day. It's the only hospital
shuttle service in the area staffed by volunteers. Flucke has been driving
for two years. "Just about every day, I get at least one person who has
lost his car," says Flucke. "But we just drive up and down the aisles
'til we find it. Sometimes people get turned around between the doctor's
offices and the hospital. It can take awhile, but eventually, we always
find the car!"
|
