RSVP RIDE
West Liberty and North English are small, rural Iowa communities located in Muscatine and Iowa Counties. According to the 2000 census, the senior population (age 65 and over) is estimated at 13.4% in West Liberty and 28% in North English. Approximately 8% of these seniors are low-income. The Case Management Program for the Frail Elderly, the West Liberty Retirement Community and individual community members have identified the need for medical transportation for homebound seniors in these communities. Due to the lack of public transportation and the distance that must often be traveled to medical appointments, many seniors face difficulty in finding convenient and affordable transportation.
RSVP volunteers will help fill the gap for transportation services in West Liberty and North English by providing transportation to medical appointments for homebound seniors in these communities. The transportation provided will be free of charge for homebound seniors to help alleviate the concern of finanaces for seniors on fixed incomes.
Twenty RSVP volunteers will provide medical transportation, contributing sixty hours of combined service per month. The Heath Foundation in West Liberty will donate $850 for mileage reimbursement and Heritage Area Agency on Aging will be responsible for funding mileage reimbursement for North English. RSVP volunteers will participate in two training and informational sessions provded by the RSVP director. Three additional volunteers will be responsible for scheduling and coordinating all rides through the RSVP RIDE program. Combined, these volunteers will serve in the coordinating position approximately 20 hours per month.
West Liberty and North English RSVP RIDE volunteers will serve approximately 40 homebound seniors with necessary medical transportation. This will result in approximately 240 medical trips per year.
RSVP volunteer drivers will provide the only method of affordable transportation available as reported by 80% of these homebound seniors in West Liberty and North English. According to a number of research studies in both the Journal of Gerontological Social Work and the Journal of Aging and Social Policy, providing homebound seniors with transportation to medical appointments will improve their health by increasing visits to health care providers, as well as improve quality of life by increasing independence and a greater opportunity for connectedness. The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging has also stated that increasing the availability of transportation is closely correlated with decreasing isolation and loneliness, as well. RSVP will allow seniors to remain in their homes longer, which will delay the need for long-term care resulting in significant cost-savings to homebound seniors on fixed incomes. An average of $15.00 will be saved per trip using RSVP RIDE over other inconvenient and expensive transportation services. In total, RSVP RIDE will save homebound seniors over $3,600 per year.
