FORT SCOTT — The Care Van rides that take Bourbon County residents to medical appointments nearly lost the income that keeps them going.
“We went from about $40,000 a month in income to about $4,000 in income,” Becky Gray of Building Health Inc. told county commissioners Oct. 26. Gray said reimbursement dropped after changes in who insurers use to broker non-emergency medical rides. If the program were not part of the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, she said, “we probably would have closed our doors.” She said monthly income is now back closer to $30,000 to $40,000.
Gray said Care Van gave about 4,400 rides in Bourbon County in its last program year and could not fill about 400 more because schedules were full. “Essentially, you know, we’re the car. So anywhere you go in your car, people are going on our buses,” she said.
Rides are scheduled by calling 833-228-7433 during working hours. Commissioners approved a letter of support for the program’s KDOT grant.