According to local statistics, Sarasota County has the largest percentage of older adults in the nation. It is the third largest county in the United States  with older adults.

More than 30 percent of the population  in Sarasota is over 65 years old and over 45 percent of all household include someone over 65 years of age.

According to National statistics conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 10,000 Americans will turn 65 each day by 2012, and by 2030 our overall senior population will reach nearly 71 million.

There are more than 30 million senior drivers aged 65 or older who are on the road today (NHTSA).

Seniors in Sarasota County will experience difficulty with transportation sometime in their life.

ITN Sarasota, Inc. is a non-profit organization that in organized in providing safe, dignified rides in private cars for seniors and adults with vision impairments.  The mission of ITNSarasota is to provide a community-supported, consumer-oriented, economically sustainable transportation service to seniors and adults with visual impairments who want to preserve their mobility and independence.

The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and rides are available within the service area for any purpose. Rides are provided in private automobiles by trained trained volunteer and paid drivers. People 60 years and older and adults with visual impairments are eligible to ride. Door to door service with assistance is also provided for those who require help with folding walkers or carrying packages.

For more information on this program, call ITN Sarasota at (941)364-7530 or visit their website at www.itnsarasota.org

Right Accord Private Duty-Home Health Care also provides in-home care  services to seniors who want to maintain their lifestyle and independence by arranging caregivers who can provide assistance in their physical mobility including errands and  transportation.  Sarasota care providers are available to become senior helpers as needed for as little as 4 hours to 24 hours.

A little help at home is sometimes all what you need to give you and your family peace of mind. Home health aides, companions and certified nursing assistants are certified to provide care.

For free care consultation and free assessment from a registered nurse, please call our toll free number 1-877-685-3889.

It is easier for people with disability or special needs to maintain physically and socially active in today’s society. Many people with disabilities now use scooters and wheelchairs to assist them in their transportation needs.

In addition,  with modern technology, people can now be transported in a specially equipped vans or public transportation vans designed for the handicapped and wheelchair dependent clients. Majority of public places such as restaurants, shopping malls, airport and supermarket are designed to accommodate people with disabilities which makes it more satisfying and comfortable for disabled people to come.

If a senior is ill or hospitalized, the case manager will initially arrange for non-emergency transportation if you require wheelchair or stretcher when you leave the hospital or rehab facility. When admitted to a nursing home,  rehabilitation facility or assisted living facility, a person may also need to be transported to doctor’s appointments and medical procedures. The case manager or social worker or facility scheduler will also arrange for non-emergency transportation.

Right Accord Transport is available in Sarasota and Manatee County to accommodate non-emergency transportation requiring wheelchair or stretcher. Caregivers such as  certified home health aides or certified nursing assistants or companions are available should you require special assistance when traveling to such as medical appointments,  social appointments, visiting friends or family, airport travel or going out of state travel.

At Right Accord Transport, it is our utmost goal to assist you in maximizing your independence and provide you with safety and comfort during your travel.

Our newest state of the art vans are designed to accommodate special mobility needs. The drivers are CPR certified and are very dependable and polite. Our rates are very reasonable and affordable.

To book your next non-emergency wheelchair or stretcher  transport with us, please call (941) 366-0801 or you may book on line by visiting our website at www.rightaccordhealth.com.

Right Accord Transport is available 24/7 in Sarasota and its neighboring areas such as Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Osprey, Venice, Nokomis, Casey Key, Bird Key.

In an era where disaster preparedness is more necessary than ever before, we should all have emergency documents ready in case of a natural or man-made disaster. Here are few tips:

Ask several relatives or friends who live outside your immediate area (approximately 100 miles away) to act as a clearinghouse for information about you and your family after a disaster. It is often easier to place an out-of-state long distance call from a disaster area, than to call within the area. All family members should know to call contact person to report their location and condition. Once contact is made, have the contact person relay messages to your other friends and relatives outside the disaster area. This will help to reduce calling into and out of the affected area once the phones are working.

Emergency Documents includes important information typically needed after a disaster. Copies of emergency documents should include vital information:

• Specifications for adaptive equipment (in case it needs to be replaced)
• Proof of ownership or lease of your residence. (This is important when applying for disaster assistance).
• Social security numbers of family members
• Charge and bank account numbers
• Insurance policy numbers
• Securities, deeds and loan numbers including company name, address and telephone numbers
• Wills/ Living Trusts and letters of instructions
• Important Business documents
• Family records (birth, marriage, death certificate)

The documents should be placed in a water proof container.

Should you be requested to evacuate your home you should remember to bring this container with you.

Right Accord participates in the Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plan in the Sarasota County by submitting an Emergency Preparedness plan to the Sarasota County Health Department.

Seniors in Sarasota, Longboat key, Bradenton and Venice area who are receiving help at home from our Agency are automatically encouraged to fill out the Person with Special Need (PSN). Right Accord assists with registering seniors to the County Emergency Management Services if necessary. Right Accord will continue to provide services at the designated shelter to seniors who were receiving help at home.

Families living out of Florida who are looking for help for Mom or Dad in the Sarasota County or Manatee County who feel that they may need assistance during the hurricane season may contact our agency to arrange for care providers. We may arrange transportation to a safety place if it is needed especially seniors who require wheelchair transportation. Caregivers will assist the elderly with all the necessary documents and items needed to prepare prior to the actual evacuation.

Hurricane Preparedness is everyone responsibility. Be Prepared!

Generally speaking, these senior transportation services are more suited to helping people who are slightly more immobile than the rest of the population.  I’m sure we’ve all seen, and felt sorry for, an older person who is struggling to get off a bus (usually with some kind soul helping out) but with everyone huffing and puffing about the time taken to do so.  This behaviour by ‘the masses’  is, and will be, around for much time.  So will the high steps to get on and off the bus to begin with.

Most forms of transport that cater for seniors have wider doors, seats and some have air suspension that lower the bus to the ground when people get on and off.  One thing that is hugely important is that everyone on that bus is in the same situation and there certainly wont be anyone complaining about the time taken to get through the door.  An added bonus is that the driver will have been employed to drive the minibus or transport because of a decent, relaxed and helpful mannerism.

The specialist kind of non-emergency transport usually has to be booked through an agency and is date, time and distance specific. You have willl have to provide details of the immobile client with regards to wheelchair or stretcher uses, their height and weight. If your loved one is medically stable but requires medication to be close at hand or needs a care provider to escort them most transport services are closely aligned with senior care provider agencies so they can help with your needs.

For non-emergency senior transportation services, they can be found through your local church, charities provide transport to their centers where they usually have activites, the local Town Hall will either have information or have their own transport, shopping centers or malls can provide means of transport as well.

Shops, restaraunts, parks, museums, airports, etc, all cater for people with limited mobility.  So, the problem isn’t with what to do or see, the problem is now how to get there.

Various companies offer wheelchair and stretcher transportation.  This normally involves a highly modified vehicle.  To start with there will be a way for the wheelchair or stretcher to be loaded easily into the interior of the vehicle – if you are considering hiring a service to transport and assist a loved one this would be a good question to ask – a lift is the usual means.

The van will have a good sized wide body for ease of access for the individual and once inside there will need to be enough room for a caregiver (professional, family or friend) to move around the client to assure comfort and safety.  obviously some good head room here will help the caregiver more than your loved one.

Where are you and what season is it? Is the transport suitably equipped to deal with the extremes of heat or cold during winter or summer? A good heater and a comfort blanket is essential and the opposite is air-conditioning and some sun shades on the window next to the passenger.

You are now in the vehicle, the wheelchair or stretcher is in and secure, your loved one is comfortable. Let us now look at the driver. Is he familiar with the vehicle he is driving, the size, power and handling? Has he the latest up-to-date CPR/first aid certificates? Is he polite and courteous (you are after all paying for a service!)? Was he on time and knows where he is going?

So…. now we have places to go and things to see and do for our immobile loved ones and also we have a means of getting them there and back home again safely.

For more information our own wheelchair and stretcher transportation in the Sarasota, Venice, Longboat Key, Bradenton and surrounding areas please visit our Non-Emergency Transport page.

What usually happens is that an individual rarely acknowledges the fact their skills are declining, or are even becoming dangerous to themselves or others, and quite an emotional battle ensues between the elderly person in question, a caregiver- family or friend – and the relevant motoring authorities.

The loss of their ability to drive need not be the end of the world. There are many ways for elderly citizens to still be mobile without the use of their own car. If family or friends live nearby then help can be at hand to get out into the community or do shopping and errands. By actually joining various organizations, charities, clubs or communities there can be access to their own transport which can offer collection and drop off services whilst taking part in the activities. When looking at housing options, by choosing suitable areas to live may cut out the need for a car. If you managed to plan ahead you might have put aside finances to cover yourself for times when you were less mobile.

Unfortunately all of the above is for the person who is still physically mobile. What about elderly transportation for people who are not able to get around so easily even if they had their own car?

If someone has a wheelchair to assist in the mobility then special consideration has to be taken into the style of vehicle they are to use. Some individuals can quite happily move from the chair, assisted, into a car or minivan, then the wheelchair is put away. However if the condition of the elderly person is such that they are more fragile and can not be so easily moved out of their chair then special transport has to be arranged which can accommodate the person in their chair.

Then, finally, the last option for non-emergency transport is to have a well equipped vehicle, such as a van from an elderly transportation service equipped for wheelchair and stretcher use, with a caregiver in attendance to assist the person from getting from A to B in safety and comfort.  The caregiver obviously being aware of the medical condition and all procedures to be followed should the clients conditions worsen during the journey.

The wheelchair.  The trunk of your car might be large but the wheelchair is also heavy and oddly shaped, with bits of metal sticking out of it, ready to scratch the paintwork on the way in and rip the carpet during the journey.  Leaning over into a trunk, trying to keep the wheelchair from destroying your car, does not put you in the best position for lifting – which is back straight and knees bent.  So you risk hurting your back as well as the car.

The car is a ‘low to the ground’ mode of transport… and a four wheel drive is a ‘high off the ground’ mode of transport. Your loved one is in the wheelchair for a reason… a lack of mobility, or, they should be resting due to illness.  Climbing in and out of vehicles – whether they be high or low – isn’t a good idea and this could worsen their existing condition.

Once you have managed to get your family member or friend into the car and you are ready to turn the key ask yourself when you last had the car fully serviced and do you honestly think it would match up to the high mobility transport standards that non-emergency transport vehicles have to go through.  You can be asking yourself this whilst your loved one tries to get comfortable in seats that were not designed to have people with possible hip, back or joint problems sitting in them.

Ok, now satisfied that you are a suitable solution to a professional agency that supplies specialist vehicles for non-emergency transport you start to drive off. Your fragile passenger is requiring your help getting around for a reason…. they are not too well.  What would you do if they took a turn for the worse? When was the last time you took a first aid course or renewed your CPR certificate? Do you know what medication they are on or even the reason they are ill so you can inform the proper emergency services when they turn up to help?

Interesting points, don’t you think?

So, if you live in Sarasota, Venice, Longboat Key, Bradenton or surrounding areas contact us to see if we can help you.