Some interesting facts about people who use mobility devices such as wheelchairs or scooters:
- In the United States, 1.7 million people use wheelchairs or scooters. An additional 6.1 million use other mobility devices such as canes, crutches, and walkers.
- The two most prevalent primary conditions among wheelchair and scooter users are stroke and osteoarthritis.
- About half of wheelchair users report having difficulty entering or leaving the home. Also, half of wheelchair users must use steps to enter or exit their homes.
- 80% of wheelchair users report that their local public transportation system is difficult to use or to get to.
- 50% of physician office visits are made by patients with chronic conditions in this order of frequency: Hypertension, arthritis, high cholesterol, diabetes, and depression.
- Medical visits to doctor’s offices, emergency rooms and hospital outpatient offices increased by 26 percent from 1996 to 2006, faster than the growth of the U.S. population.
- In that same period, visits to hospital outpatient departments made by adults with chronic diabetes increased by 43%, and visits with chronic hypertension increased by 51%
Patient in wheelchair at medical appointment
What do these statistics tell us? That more and more Americans must endure difficult, increasingly frequent trips to the doctor due to chronic medical conditions. The sickest people must go to the doctor most, yet these same people have the hardest time getting there.
Whether you happen to be the person with the illness, or you are the person caring for them, recognizing the difficulties involved in getting to that important doctor appointment is the first important step toward cure.
There is a very good solution, thankfully. Employ the use of a company that specializes in the non-emergency transportation of medical patients, no matter what their illness or disability. These companies provide an enhanced service that really addresses the difficulties that so many encounter.
A professional medical transportation company will provide a driver who will escort the client from their door to the wheelchair accessible vehicle, make sure the patient is secure, drive in a safe, careful manner, and escort the client to their destination.
The reliable performance of this seemingly simple set of tasks can make an immeasurable difference in the quality of life not only of the client, but of the client’s family. When the family decides to stop struggling with transportation issues and leave it to the professionals, they can spend their energies on other important things, including enjoying life.
When medical transportation is outsourced, a very positive psychological shift can take place in a family. The client who is in need of the transportation now has a reliable option. They feel more independent, and less of a burden to the family. When the client uses accessible transportation, the family feels less burdened, too. The family can then think about enjoying the company of the client, and not just focus on tending to the client’s needs.
References:
Mobility Device Use in the United States
Disability Statistics Center, University of California San Francisco
Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Estimates for 2006
Center for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics
Michael Grach, of All-Ways Medical Carriers provides airport medical transportation service to Chicago's North Shore and Northwest suburbs
For safe, helpful, on time wheelchair accessible transportation, call 847-279-2740, or email:
info@all-ways.us to schedule your next ride.
