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Contact the local department of transportation and they will send an application for the paratransit services offered for seniors and disabled individuals.

Please help him fill it out or the answers could cause some serious challenges to getting him approved.

Depending on his physical challenges the price for the rides are scaled down, in my city a visually impaired person gets a ride for 1 dollar and their companion rides free.

They also offer taxi vouchers at a huge discount.

I would personally schedule his appointments when they were convenient for me, that way I knew what was going on with his health. That is based on my personal experience with my dad.

Best of luck and tell dad I said "Well done! for giving up the car! Takes a caring person to think about others and make that difficult choice".
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Sarah3 Oct 2020
I don’t think the op said he’s disabled mentally, it sounds from what she said that he is able to figure things out on his own but just needs transportation. It’s recommended whenever possible to allow seniors as much independence as is safely possible to maintain their dignity and freedom to make choices and have confidence that comes from doing basic tasks such as filling out a form, unless the ops father has dementia or is sight impaired he may want to do as many of those things as simple as filling out a form on his own. Obviously there’s different personalities but this is a general recommendation that applies to seniors, some folks really need to feel as much independence as safely possible even in the simple things that gives them better state of mind and less prone to feelings of being useless or depressed that seniors can easily fall into when they begin to lose some of their independence
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My Medicare advantage plan has a number of free rides to doctor appointments. Since this is the time of year to sign up for 2021, you can go to Medicare.gov and compare advantage plans for his county.
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ExhaustedPiper Oct 2020
Hi care,

Can you point me to any info so I can read about the Medicare ride benefit?

TIA!
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Some public transportation services have special services for Seniors or "dis-abled". In some cases the mini bus or van will pick up at your house and will drop you off at the location and return for you when you call or at a prearranged time. Some Senior Centers have Volunteers that will bring someone to a Doctor appointment or to the store.
Then there is Cab, Uber, Lyft or other share ride service.
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If your dad is a veteran, some veteran organizations have volunteers that will drive to appointments. Check with your local VA.
Our church also has a volunteer service to drive elderly people to doctor appointments. You could check local faith communities.
If you need someone to actually attend the appointment and take notes or ask questions, you can hire an Aging Lifecare specialist. Check aginglifecare.org
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NeedHelpWithMom Oct 2020
Great suggestion! Yes, I forgot that my church has a ministry that helps those in need of transportation. Volunteers give rides to doctors, grocery store, pharmacy, bank, etc.
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Check with family and friends and Churches.

Also call Senior places and inquire about Volunteers that will drive someone to their Dr's appointment.
You might also check with their Insurance and see if they can help.

Yoy can also see if some of his appointments can be virtual.
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CTTN55 Oct 2020
Are people still doing this, though? Even before covid, I wouldn't have wanted to do that, as I'm sure I would be expected to help people more than I'd planned (getting into the car, etc.). And now with covid, why would volunteers expose themselves (and the seniors) to covid needlessly? Are the volunteers disinfecting their cars constantly? Wearing masks correctly? Same for the seniors with regard to wearing masks.
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Council on Aging in my area has shuttle buses. Check to see if that is available for you.

Best wishes to you.
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Home care charges $.70 cents per
mile with 4 hour shift. Maybe hire them once a week or uber
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Call your local Area Agency on Aging or your state Dept.of Aging for options.
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You can check with the city where he lives - some places have a senior van which he can sign up to use. Check with the public transportation system in your area and explain what you need - I have a friend who used this for years with her 90+ year old grandmother. Some medical facilities have their own van which will get people to/from appointments (but not anywhere else, obviously). There is also private transport from numerous different companies which can be arranged and paid for, but it's quite expensive. One thing I'll caution you about would be that if your dad needs a lot of help with things, make sure the driver can and will help with that. For example, some drivers are not allowed to lock/unlock doors to the house and are not allowed inside the home per company policy so the person needs to be ready to go, door locked, and waiting outside for the ride. Some drivers are not allowed to assist a person up/down their front steps or roll someone up/down a ramp in a wheelchair. I'm sure there are other things. And, you also need to make sure that someone will be meeting your dad on the other end of the ride. Often, the driver will deliver the person curbside but will not necessarily walk the person to their appointment (often they will not). Also make sure that everyone understands how the return ride home will work (i.e. Is the driver coming back at a certain time, or is he/she going to wait to be called to come back). Just some things I've run into which I hope are helpful.
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Because my parents both needed assistance traveling and attending their doctor appointments I scheduled the appointments to fit my little free time. As dad declined and needed a heavy wheelchair we used a patient wheelchair transport service. Dad passed and now mom uses a visiting physician service and we are thrilled. Lab draws, urine checks and even basic x-rays are done at her apartment. Often we do a virtual visit with her doctor.
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