Dial-a-Ride gets a new van
To meet a growing need, the Beaches Council on Aging has added another Dial-a-Ride vehicle to enhance transportation access for seniors and adults with disabilities.
The Beaches Council on Aging received a gift from Baptist Health that made possible the purchase of a new wheelchair-accessible van. This marks the organization’s fifth accessible vehicle and arrives just in time to commemorate its 50th anniversary celebration, honoring five decades of service to the community.
The new Dodge Ram wheelchair-accessible van that holds eight passengers and two wheelchairs aligns with the Community Health Needs Assessment’s three-year priority to improve access to transportation. The needs assessment, conducted by Baptist Health along with other local nonprofit health systems, has shown lack of transportation as a barrier to accessing health and wellbeing. The Beaches Council on Aging is helping to fill that need.
Dial-a-Ride is the flagship service of Beaches Council on Aging, a vital transportation service for elderly and disabled individuals while promoting the health and social engagement of homebound seniors and disabled persons living in Jacksonville’s Beach communities by providing personal and affordable transportation.
The Beaches Council on Aging depends on the backing of community partners to continue thriving and making a lasting impact in the Jacksonville Beach area.
“Our mission is to improve the quality of life for senior residents of the Beaches by connecting them to people, services and places with care,” said Lori Delgado Anderson, executive director of Beaches Council on Aging. “This generous gift allows us to expand our reach and give even more back to the elderly and people in our community with disabilities.”
Without contributions from partners like Baptist Health, continued service to those in need would not be possible.
“At Baptist Health, our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our community extends far beyond the walls of our hospitals,” said Katie Ensign, vice president of Community Impact for Baptist Health. “We routinely listen closely to the voices of our most vulnerable neighbors across five Northeast Florida counties to better understand the barriers they face in accessing health and well-being. One of the most pressing challenges they’ve identified is transportation — a critical yet often overlooked determinant of health.”
Ensign said Baptist Health is proud to support and partner with organizations like Beaches Council on Aging, whose Dial-a-Ride program provides free, door-to-door transportation for Beaches residents.
To learn more about Beaches Council on Aging and Dial-a-Ride, go to https://beachescoa.org.