LUMBERTON — Southeastern Health’s U-Care Connections program, which provides transportation to local health services, got a boost this week in the form of a $550,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
The Connections program is part of Southeastern Health’s Compassion for U initiative, which is led by Chaplain Dean Carter, Southeastern Health coordinator of Pastoral Care Services.
“Studies show that people who have access to a vehicle or to friends and family with a vehicle are more likely to use health-care services than those without vehicle access,” Carter said. “Modes of transportation affect health-care access too. People with reliable access to private transportation are more likely to go to a medical appointment than those who rely on public transportation.”
Time and distance burdens are frequently cited by patients as a barrier to health-care utilization, Carter said. For vulnerable populations, transportation can be unaffordable.
“In local context, Robeson County is the largest rural land mass area in the state of North Carolina, coupled with no public transportation offerings,” Carter said.
U-Care Connections volunteer drivers, also referred to as Connectors, undergo criminal background and driving records checks, annual drivers safety training, and visually inspect their own vehicles on a monthly schedule. These volunteers fall under Southeastern Health’s Pastoral Care Services department. They provide volunteer hours and a vehicle and receive only a gas mileage reimbursement.
“The difference in our program is the encouragement given from the driver,” Carter said. “It is a wonderful service and missions opportunity for the driver to show compassion, caring and empathy to the transportation disadvantaged, helping those who have health-care issues and are vulnerable to those needs remaining unmet. Our effort saves lives that would have faded away unnoticed.”
Some Connectors are pastors. Many are not. Connectors are both male and female, and are of multiple racial backgrounds.
“While the drivers are from a variety of different spiritual backgrounds, faith is an asset we would like to see in every driver,” Carter said.
Alisia Oxendine, director over the Pastoral Care Services department, has watched the Connections program thrive.
“This program is true to its name in that it connects our faith community with those who are facing challenges related not only to their physical health, but, in many cases, also related to their spiritual health,” Oxendine said. “Placing these volunteers in their path provides them with a solution to their transportation issues to improve their health, while providing them with a listening ear and a resource for encouragement and support.”
Southeastern Health is collaborating with Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and the North Carolina Healthcare Association to research the findings of U-Care Connections for possible adaptation of a best practice to answer transportation disparities in other health-care settings across the state.
“The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust has been a huge supporter of our programs through grant awards for many, many years,” said Sissy Grantham, Southeastern Health Foundation executive director. “It is through grants, like this one, that we are able to provide support to our community to expand access to much-needed health services which, in turn, greatly impacts efforts to improve our overall health.”
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