What do people who cannot drive (medical reasons) do to get help with transportation to medical appointments?

OldestKid, be careful about your employment. I was driving my parents everywhere so I was using vacation days, sick leave days, and days with no pay. Thus others in the office were doing my work because of so much time off... eventually headquarters decided to eliminate my position all together :(

Now what I do is have my parents use the same doctors, thus get back-to-back appointments.... only one afternoon off instead of two separate afternoons off. And I stopped with the ridiculous "come back in 3 months" that some of the doctors were doing... if the health issue isn't a life or death situation, once or twice a year was enough.

Now, here is a thought, what if you couldn't drive for whatever medical reason? I am dealing with that now since I broke my shoulder, I can't use the gear shift. My parents are looking at me like "who will drive us?" Sorry, that "guilt" isn't going to work this time :P

This is a serious problem. I only have one elderly parent, and she has many appointments. My sister and I split them, but we're both retired. Together with grocery shopping, library, social events and other errands, a lot of time is spent driving Mom around. I can only imagine how many with two parents and one adult child.

My Mom lives in a senior community where there are several residents who help the older residents for a small fee. My mother arranged for rides with one of those women for a few occasions when neither my sister nor I was available. In addition, she has a neighbor who has taken her shopping a few times, just as a favor. So I wonder if there are any informal services like that where your parents live, or any neighbors/friends/fellow church members that they could ask for favors occasionally?

I do agree that it may be time for your parents to consider a more supported living environment, because two needy parents helped by one adult child who is still working is just not a sustainable arrangement over the longer term.

oldestkid, you mentioned your parents are low income... see if they qualify for Medicaid... if yes, see what programs are available in your State.

Others above are right, sounds like it is time for your parents to move closer to a larger city where care is just around the corner. They might feel more comfortable being much closer to their doctors, too.

Do they live in their own home? If yes, and the house has a lot of equity, sell it and use the money to get a nice senior apartment in town.

I know it seems a slightly drastic response, but I think Sunnygirl has raised a good point. If your parents' location is really that remote and under-served, perhaps it is time they moved closer to a larger population centre: what happens in an emergency?

Do you have any senior citizen centers in your area? Sometimes they either know of, or have contracted with a transit agency (perhaps out of the area) to provide local transportation.

First, I would make sure I had exhausted all referrals. It's odd that you have been given the runaround. I've never heard of a county with no transportation for seniors and the disabled. So, I would call your local dept of social services, local counsel on aging, as well as any independent living facilities to see what they say. Certainly, some of these places would know if there is someone who provides this service.

However, if there is none, then I would try to get some referrals for a private person that you might hire to transport for you. It may be more expensive than a cab, but it might be easier on your parents, since the cab experience will become more and more difficult for them as they get older.

And if they are needing more and more medical services, you might anticipate that this is going to become more problematic and since your job does not accommodate that time away, Have you considered them moving to a facility that might provide them with transportation, meals, medication, etc. ?