Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND – In the middle of last month, the city of Worland took a big step in helping local dialysis patients by donating a bus to the Worland Senior Citizens Center in order to help with transportation to Cody.
For a while, people from around the Big Horn Basin have been confronted by the problem of transportation from their town to Cody, whether it is for dialysis appointments or other doctor appointments.
Senior Center Executive Director Wendy Fredricks said, that she has had plenty of people come to her, asking if the senior center had any transportation to Cody. With the need for wheelchair adaptable transportation growing, Fredricks had attended a city meeting and proposed the idea of the senior center borrowing the city’s bus to transport residents to Cody three times a week for dialysis.
Instead of having the center borrow the bus, the city donated it instead.
The program will be funded mostly by a grant, along with a transportation program for Medicare patients. Travelers taking the bus are asked to provide $25 a ride. People with a low income status, however, may qualify for one of the center’s programs, such as Wyoming Services for Independent Living (WSIL). Starting in August, Worland’s Blair’s Supermarket will be starting a fundraiser for the senior center’s transportation program as well.
The trips will be taken three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For now, Fredricks said that the bus will be leaving at 11:30 a.m.
Fredricks said they will up people from Manderson, Basin and Greybull. The trips are open to the public. On the bus, there will be room for 10 riders.
Residents can call the Senior Center to schedule to be picked up. They can attend for reasons other than dialysis and medical appointments, and travel for the sake of recreational, or any other reasons.
The bus will be in Cody for four and a half hours, and is expected to arrive back in Worland around 7 p.m.
Residents traveling for reasons other than dialysis will be able to be dropped off at their destinations after the dialysis patients are dropped off at their appointments.
Fredricks confirmed that they are looking for designated pick up spots, and have already got permission from the Greybull Senior Center. “For now, as long as we’re only picking up one or two people, it’s not as pressing of a matter to find designated spots, and we can pick them up, instead.”
The center has decided to try this program for a year, and then look at funding to decide what will come next.
The Worland Senior Center is still thankful to both Blair’s Supermarket and the City of Worland for their time and contributions. Those interested in scheduling a ride, or looking for more information, can call the senior center at (307) 347-3208.