Lakewood Launches Transportation Program For Disabled Residents

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood is launching a new program to help residents that have a permanent disability get to their medical appointments. And the city needs volunteers to test the program's success.

Lakewood announced the Transportation Accessibility Program (TAP) pilot on Tuesday morning. The service will offer round-trip transportation services to medical appointments, twice-a-month, to residents aged 18 to 59 who have a permanent disability. The pilot program is being funded through a $60,000 grant from the Lakewood Hospital Association (LHA).

“LHA is honored to have served the community for so many years. In addition to the Healthy Lakewood Foundation, LHA is establishing this endowment to fund non-emergency medical transport for a very, very long time,” said Tom Gable, Chair of the LHA Board of Trustees. “This support is a part of the legacy Lakewood Hospital is leaving behind to benefit the community.”

The pilot will run for one-year. The city will then evaluate the program, determine best practices, and then run the program full-time through a $1.7 million endowment from LHA.

The city will work with Senior Transportation Connection for scheduling and driving services. Lakewood's Department of Human Services will work with the organization to explore various transportation options, including possibly utilizing Uber and Lyft. The goal will be to maximize the number of residents that TAP can serve.

TAP will launch this month, the city said. Applications for residents looking to partake in the services can be downloaded online. The applications will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“Transportation and access to healthcare is one of the most critical keys to achieving health and wellness,” said Toni Gelsomino, Lakewood's director of human services. “The City of Lakewood has a long history of supporting non-emergency medical transportation for older residents in our community, but there has been a need for the same transportation services for residents ages 18-59. We are fortunate to have this opportunity thanks to the financial support of the Lakewood Hospital Association in offering a pilot. This will give us a formal design for the future.”