July 7 2006

NH to phase in NH Connections travel assistance service starting in mid July

Northern Health will begin phasing in the NH Connections travel assistance program over the summer and fall. NH Connections will provide low-cost travel services to patients who need to go to larger centres for specialized health services, and is part of a BC Government commitment to expand access to health services for rural residents.

“The hope is the start of this service will make a real difference to Northern British Columbians, particularly seniors and people with limited incomes for whom travel for specialized health services has been a problem,“ said Deputy Premier and Prince George Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond.

“This is a new service for Northern Health. So we want to gradually introduce it to our communities, work out any issues through a staged start-up, run it for a period of time, and improve it based on the feedback we receive from passengers, community groups and health providers,” said Northern Health CEO Malcolm Maxwell.

Northern Health has worked with its contractor, Diversified Transportation Ltd, to develop custom-fitted coaches and buses to provide the service. All of the new vehicles will be wheelchair accessible. Highway coaches will also have wheelchair accessible washrooms, a North American first.

The start dates for the each of the NH Connections routes will be as follows:

"By phasing in the program, we can keep better track of how each route functions, make changes more effectively, and introduce it to our communities as we move the service up to its full capacity,” said Sean Hardiman, regional manager of the NH Connections Program.

Most long distance routes will operate on a minimum of two round trips a week. Short distance routes will operate one same-day round trip per week, allowing a patient from a small community to travel into a larger center in the morning, receive their health service, and return in the late afternoon/early evening.

The service will be available for any Northern BC residents who need a physician-referred health service that isn’t available in their home community. Fares will range from $20 return for short distance routes, to between $40 and $80 return for long distance routes depending on the length of travel. No tax is charged on the fares. Patients can find out specific travel dates and fares or reserve a seat by calling 1-888-647-4997. Information is also on-line at www.northernhealth.ca/nhconnections

The BC Government has funded NH Connections through boosting NH’s annual operating budget by $4 million. This new funding is specifically targeted to provide transportation assistance. The NH Connections program is a made-in-the-North solution that involved consultation with community groups across the region. NH Connections also meets a need for travel assistance that Northern British Columbians voiced during Northern Health’s 2004 Community Consultation.

Media Contact:
Mark Karjaluoto, Director of Communications: (250) 565-2694