Wondering how your transportation needs will be met after moving to assisted living? Here’s everything you need to know!
Assisted Living Transportation Services
At Cranberry Park assisted living communities, our transportation services include scheduled outings and transportation to some outside appointments.
Some of our assisted living centers offer transportation to doctors’ appointments either free of charge or for a nominal fee. In any event, we will be happy to assist in arranging transportation to and from your appointments outside the center in the most cost-effective manner that’s in keeping with your needs.
The scheduled outings at each community can be found on the community’s activity calendar and are open to all residents. Some examples of outings residents have enjoyed in the past include trips to local stores and restaurants, bus tours and museum visits.
If residents are originally from the area that the care community is located in, these outings can help them to remain a part of the wider community. If they’re new to the area, they get a chance to explore it and enjoy everything it has to offer.
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Related: Transportation Options for Aging Adults in Central Ohio
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Free to Come and Go as You Please
Many seniors wonder if they will still have freedom of movement once they move to an assisted living apartment. At MacIntosh care communities, residents are free to come and go as they please.
If you want to join your children for lunch, visit friends or even leave for a vacation, you are more than welcome to do so on your own schedule. We only ask that you let the staff know if you’re going to miss a meal or be out of the center for an extended period of time.
On-Site Activities and Services
MacIntosh assisted living communities are set up to provide you with everything you need to live safely and comfortably. That means that while you are welcome to leave the community when you wish and take advantage of transportation services, you’ll have access to a wide variety of on-site activities and services that eliminate the necessity to travel outside the campus.
For example, our dining programs offer delicious menu options and our activities calendar is full of fun events located right down the hall. All centers are equipped with a full-service salon (services do come with modest fees) and have podiatry, dental, optometry and psychological services available.
You can even see an attending physician at the assisted living community if you choose. You are of course welcome to continue seeing your own physician outside of the center, but this provides a convenient on-site option for residents.
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Related: Is it Time to Give Up the Keys?
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Poor Transportation Can Lead to Poor Health
Transportation (or lack thereof) can be an issue for seniors who live at home, especially in rural or suburban areas where public transportation is not available or easily accessible. If they do not have access to a car, no longer have their license or are unable to drive, public transportation may not be able to fill that gap for seniors.
Even in cities, seniors may be affected by what’s known as a transit desert, an area where the demand for transportation exceeds the supply.
Lacking proper access to transportation can have serious health consequences. In their article, Traveling Towards Disease: Transportation Barriers to Health Care Access, Samina T. Syed, Ben S. Gerber and Lisa K. Sharp found that transportation barriers often translate to barriers to healthcare access.
“Transportation barriers lead to rescheduled or missed appointments, delayed care, and missed or delayed medication use. These consequences may lead to poorer management of chronic illness and thus poorer health outcomes,” they wrote.
They found this problem to be compounded in the older population.
“The elderly may face a unique combination of access barriers due to disability, illness and likely a greater need for frequent visits to their clinician,” they wrote. “Among the elderly reporting any barrier to health care access, 3–21 % reported having transportation barriers.”
At an assisted living community, those barriers are eliminated. You’ll have access to both on-site services and transportation to outside appointments to ensure that your health needs are being met, along with health and wellness monitoring.
Senior Transportation Resources
If you are still considering a move to an assisted living community but are having some difficulty with transportation or safe driving in the meantime, these resources can help:
Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging
