Van means greater access to healthcare for Mission Valley Veterans
Megan Strickland
Members of the Ronan VFW and drivers for the Disabled American Veterans van stand with the new and older van, both in use to take Veterans to doctor appointments.
Megan Strickland
Jack Collins stands with a new 2013 Ford Flex Disabled American Veterans van that was bought with community donations. The second van will mean fewer missed doctors appointments for Mission Valley veterans.
Megan Strickland
A new 2013 Ford Flex Disabled American Veterans van was bought with community donations.
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RONAN — Volunteers from Ronan drove 560 veterans more than 40,000 miles to doctor’s appointments last year, but because of a shortage of transportation some vets were still turned away.
“Sometimes we just had too tight of a schedule to do it,” volunteer driver Jack Collins said.
Hopefully those days are at an end, after Collins and fellow volunteer Dick Jessen, drove to Helena on Oct. 31 to pick up a customized 2013 Ford Flex Disabled American Veterans transportation van that will be used to take veterans to appointments across the state of Montana. It joins a 2000 Ford Windstar van the group already has that is stored by the Ronan VFW.
The van was purchased with donations raised at barbecues and other fundraising events. Donors that gave more than $1,000 were Don Aadsen Ford, Pierce Chevrolet-Dodge, Super 1- Harvest Foods and three individual contributors who wished to remain anonymous.
“It’s amazing to see such generosity from such a small community,” Collins said.
Many in Mission Valley gave dollars for the vans, but for the past five years there have been only a few to give something that is often far more precious and difficult to come by: time.
The program has 13 volunteers that dedicate their spare moments to driving veterans to doctor’s appointments.
It can mean long hours, Collins said. He recalled that one driver dropped a veteran at an appointment in Missoula at 6 a.m. The driver then turned around and picked another veteran up for a trip to Kalispell. The veteran got a connecting ride to Ft.. Harrison from another Disabled American Veterans volunteer group. The driver then returned to Missoula to pick up the veteran he dropped off earlier that morning.
“Some days get pretty long,” Collins said. “I know I’ve put in some 11, 12 hour days.”
The long days make a world of difference to the people receiving transportation. Although many veterans are eligible to receive care from Veteran’s Affairs facilities, most of those offices are in Missoula, Kalispell, or Ft. Harrison.
For elderly veterans living on a fixed income, gas money can break the bank.
“Many of them couldn’t afford gas to go to Missoula,” Collins said. “It’s a big deal economically.”
The national Disabled American Veterans group pays for the gasoline used in transport.
The vans are not able to transport wheelchairs unless they are foldable, because neither of them has a wheelchair lift. People who use walkers can receive a ride, as long as they can get in and out of the van by their own power.
Collins credits the success of the program to its volunteers, including Burt Todd, whom he call the “granddaddy” or founder of the driving program in Ronan. Todd said Collins deserves a lot of credit for spearheading the fundraising.
Collins recognized Gordon Hendrickson, Jim Pierce, and Bob Shaw as other important contributors.
The group’s other volunteers include: coordinator Marion Clairmont, Ron Beams, Gene DeCarlo, John (Jack) Fay, Dick Jessen, Patrick (Pat) Kelley, Charles (Chuck) Lewis, Doug Linden, Irvin Long, Dan Luedtke, Robert (Bob Shaw), and Burt Todd.
To volunteer or set up an appointment call Marion Clairmont at (406) 207-1496.
