THE MILEPOST
 August 2017
 
 An update from   
Mobility Management of South Central New York serves five counties in SCNY and is a program of the Rural Health Network of South Central NY.
In This Edition 
 
The Milepost Marks First Anniversary
MMSCNY Staff Continues to Expand
More on Anne Marie Sanford
Welcoming Stephanie Eatton-Johnson 
Road To Recovery
County News and Notes
MMSCNY Announcements
Mohawk Valley GIS
United Way Community Priorities Grant
MM Learning Opportunities Across the Country
Did You Know?
GIS
MMSCNY Ventures into Mapping
Map of 2016 GetThere Calls by Zip
MMSCNY Metrics
Transportation Camp Ithaca
Of Potential Interest
Binghamton Bridge Pedal
Ways You Can Help
Upcoming Events, Conferences, Workshops
 

The Milepost Marks First Anniversary

 

Friends,
 
The Milepost marks its first anniversary with this edition--a milestone for MMSCNY.
I offer some observations on behalf of MMSCNY about the year since The Milepost's  inaugural offering. Its been quite a ride! MMSCNY has covered significant distance. 2016 was a record-setting year, and the trend continues. Already this year, w e have surpassed last year's total number of cases. It is tempting to characterize the experience as 'ever-increasing demand.' Each time we review MMSCNY metrics and see ever-increasing numbers of calls and cases, it underscores the need and demonstrates that MMSCNY is filling a longstanding, significant gap. Actually, the demand has existed for years. We are hearing more about it as our partners and communities become aware of the services MMSCNY offers. Part of our challenge is getting the word out to those who would benefit from our services. The Milepost has helped do this.
 
MMSCNY's ability to take action to address the transportation and mobility issues residents of south central New York face is gratifying to me and the MMSCNY staff. At the same time, we feel good that we are now collecting and maintaining data to better inform us about our work.
 
Demographics, in combination with a lack of transportation options, as well as limited financial resources, require us to find innovative solutions to longstanding problems. I feel that MMSCNY is making a difference in our communities and changing residents' lives on a regular basis--helping them get there! This contributes to the overall health and wellness of South Central NY. But, while MMSCNY has come a long way, much remains to do. You can help by continuing your interest and involvement, and encouraging others to join us! Keep spreading the word about the need and the available resources; keep contributing your thoughts about the challenges and possible solutions. We continue to solicit and welcome your input for The Milepost. Send us your suggestions about articles of interest; photos are welcome too.
 
With thanks,
Bill Wagner
Director, MMSCNY

 
Anne Marie Sanford
  Mobility and Transportation Advocate
   
Anne Marie Sanford joined the MMSCNY staff in June as a Mobility and Transportation Advocate.
 
Anne Marie grew up near Schenectady, New York. She always knew she wanted a career making a difference in people's lives and in 2008, she graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a Bachelor's Degree in Child and Family Studies. After completing an Internship at the Family Service Association in Oneonta, she worked for The Arc Otsego and Opportunities for Otsego before moving back to Schenectady for a year.
 
In 2010, she moved to Binghamton and started working for Achieve, first as
Anne Marie Sanford
a Residence Aide, and then as a Vocational Rehab Counselor. This experience allowed her to obtain an understanding of some of the unique challenges faced by people with disabilities, including mobility and transportation. In 2015, she took a break from the field to work for Evolution Consulting, doing criminal and employment background check investigations. She joined the MMSCNY team in May 2017 and is excited to return to a job in a non-profit setting, doing work that enriches the lives of others.       
 
When not working, she enjoys spending time with family, her husband, and two cats. She currently resides in Johnson City, but is looking for a house further out in the country.
 
In her position, Anne Marie is assisting with operation of the GetThere Call Center, working with the team to deliver transportation assistance (case management, information and referral services, trip planning, travel training, and transportation education services); to improve access to employment, health care and other essential services for transportation disadvantaged, with a primary focus on the elderly and people with disabilities. 

 
MMSCNY Welcomes Stephanie Eatton-Johnson
 
MMSCNY staff continues to expand to meet service need with the addition of Stephanie Eatton-Johnson, who  joined the staff this week. We will share more information about Stephanie in the next Milepost.  

Road to Recovery
 
The American Cancer Society needs help with their Road to Recovery program. It provides rides that save lives. Road to Recovery is a volunteer program of individuals who donate their spare time and the use of their personal vehicle to give cancer patients in their community a much-needed lift. 
 
Even the best treatment can't work if a patient can't get there. Family and friends may be able to help, but over the course of several months, they may not have the time or financial means to provide every ride.
 
A successful transportation assistance program can be a tremendous, potentially life-saving asset to the community. If you own a car, you are already on the road to helping save lives.
 
For more information, including what you can do to get involved, see Road To Recovery on the ACS's website.   
 
COUNTY NEWS and NOTES
 
Broome County:  
Certain bus stops in the village of Johnson City changed locations, effective July 31st. The changes were aimed at pedestrian and driver safety, and will also address traffic congestion. There are no changes to stop-frequency, just the bus stop locations.
People with questions can call BC Transit at (607) 763-4464. 
Check these links:
Changes Coming  (WBNG, 7/21)
or
JC Bus Stops To Move, (Press & Sun Bulletin, 7/21)
 
People with questions can call BC Transit at 607-763-4464.

 
Chenango County: 
Chenango United Way is working to develop a campaign video to illustrate important work that is being done in their county by people helping people. Among its highlights will be the GetThere Call Center and the Connection to Care program. 
Connection to Care (CTC) provides non-emergency medical transportation assistance for individuals who are not enrolled in Medicaid if there is a financial need. Chenango County experienced the most rapid increase in Connection to Care usage in 2016, from among the 5 counties in our service area. (The actual case number quadrupled.) This trend is continuing.     


Delaware County:
The Transportation Voucher Program has been a win/win situation in Delaware County. It has helped Delaware Opportunities provide more comprehensive transportation service to some clients.
 
Demetra Alberti, Delaware Opportunities: "As a transportation provider, it is nice to see some clients able to receive transportation to pick up prescriptions, food and other needs that were not being covered by Medicaid."   
 
Demetra Alberti, Community Services/Personnel Director, Delaware Opportunities, Inc., can be reached at 607-746-1750. 
 
Otsego County:
Transportation to Employment Survey Underway
With some input from local employers and the Chamber of Commerce, the County Planning Department (working with MMSCNY) put together a survey regarding issues around transportation to employment in Otsego County. The results will be utilized with employers to address needs.

(Tammie Harris, Planner, Otsego County Planning & Solid Waste)

Prevocational Services at Springbrook & The ARC of Otsego Include Travel Training
Springbrook and The ARC of Otsego create opportunities designed to help increase their clients' independence, and reach their full potential. Travel training is among these opportunities. MMSCNY staff members recently trained a group of individuals with developmental disabilities on the Oneonta Public Transit System. Trainees met at Springbrook for an orientation and then rode the bus to a local destination. Participants plan to use the bus for employment purposes and were part of the prevocational services at Springbrook in Oneonta, as well as the ARC of Otsego. Recognizing that a big part of living independently is the ability to use public transit, those who participated in the training felt they acquired skills and confidence to ride independently in the future.
 
 
Tioga County:
William Wagner and Jack Salo (Executive Dir., RHNSCNY) met with Tioga County Legislative Chair, Martha Sauerbrey; Commissioner of Social Services, Shawn Yetter; and Deputy Commissioner, Gary Grant in early August to report on MMSCNY services in the county.   
 
HTM MedTrans has expended its service area to include Tioga County. HTM was established in 2016 to provide Broome County with non-emergency medical transportation for ambulatory and wheel chair passengers. HTM MedTrans is family owned and operated; their approach is patient-centered.
Ryan T., co-owner: "We saw and have worked diligently to meet a growing need. We've expanded into Tioga County, and are also now providing service to Chenango and Delaware Counties."

Community Priorities Grant
 
MMSCNY extends thanks to the Broome County United Way for their award of a Community Priorities grant for the current program year, for the purposes of i mproving access to healthcare for Broome County residents age 65 and older by:
  • providing Connection To Care assistance for non-emergency medical transportation;
  • increasing awareness of available transportation resources including those for non-emergency medical needs;
  • training seniors to use available transportation resources;
  • and advocating for and recruiting volunteer transportation services, possibly to include an assessment of the feasibility of developing a volunteer driver program. 
  Mohawk Valley GIS for Website Project

Mohawk Valley GIS  (Utica, NY) has been hired for the Mobility Management website with trip planning capability project. They do GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Services, Web Mapping, App Development and Web Design. The project's objective is to maximize information and access to transportation resources for the Medicaid population and other transportation disadvantaged groups (rural seniors, individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals) in a ten county region of central New York. 

Stay tuned; you will hear more about the project as it unfolds.

MM learning opportunities across the country
  
 
In May, Bill Wagner participated in a NTI ( National Transit Institute ) workshop in Austin at Texas DOT, for groups interested in using more independent modes of transportation services as well as improving the current system.
 

 
Nick Cecconi attended Mobility Rising the annual CTAA (Community Transportation Association of America) conference in Detroit in June. Features included important legislative discussions, training sessions, workshops and networking events.

Staff participation in workshops, conferences, and other mobility management educational and networking opportunities are important to maintain and improve professional competence and to keep abreast of innovative technology and practices. 

Did You Know? 
 
GIS is a geographic information system; it allows us to visualize, question, analyze, and interpret data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends.  If an organization's data has location such as a zip code, a town, or a  specific latitude/longitude point, GIS technology can be helpful.  

ArcGIS  has allowed MMSCNY to venture into mapping, and Nick Cecconi, Assistant Dir., has become MMSCNY's resident expert using this  platform. The tool has contributed significantly to our ability to show readers interesting metrics at a glance. The map below showing calls by zip code is a result. Stay tuned for more in the coming months.
 
For more information, and an opportunity to try your hand at mapping, see

Our purchase of this ArcGIS software was made possible with funding from NYSRTAP (Rural Transportation Assistance Program).
 
MMSCNY Mapping With Arc GIS 

    
2016 Calls to GetThere by Zip Code Origin
 
MMSCNY's Metrics Quick View 

GetThere Call Center

The Getthere Call Center continues to experience record- breaking numbers of calls, having surpassed the total number of 2016 calls.

 
Transportation Voucher Program

Results after 5 months of the Transportation Voucher Program for Medicaid recipients going to non-medical appointments show voucher use  as above (through 7/19/17), including 60% to obtain food.
This is a pilot program, available by referral for Medicaid recipients in Broome, Chenango, Delaware, and Tioga counties. It is made possible through funding provided by Care Compass Network's Innovation Grant Program.

Transportation Camp

 
Tompkins County and Cornell University hosted their second TransportationCamp Ithaca, on Saturday, June 17, on the Cornell campus.

Objectives were:
  • to offer a high quality TransportationCamp experience in Upstate NY;
  • to focus on challenges and solutions to medium & small urban and rural mobility;
  • to explore how technologies and better practices can be used to transform peoples' mobility choices and community livability;
  • and to increase networking among professionals, advocates and citizens.
 
Participants came from all over New York state as well as Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, among other states.  CEE faculty member and CTECH affiliate Francis Vanek led a 55-minute session entitled "Carbon-free Energy For Transportation," which looked at electricity and hydrogen as alternative transportation fuels, and discussed the economics of electrification of the transportation sector.  CEE alumnus Carol Schweiger of Schweiger Consulting also led a session, entitled "Smart Communities and New Mobility: an International Perspective."  Main themes of the day included mobility for the elderly and disabled, self-driving vehicles, and the future of public transportation
 
For more information, check here.
 

Participants' feedback included this:
Transportation Camp was enjoyable and interesting this year, as all unconferences should be.  It was rewarding to both attend and lead sessions; the other campers were engaged, spirited, and generous with their expertise. I look forward to next year!
 
 
 

 
Of Potential Interest
 
1) Ride Sharing-- How's It Going? (WBNG 7/31/17)

2) Uber Etiquette (WBNG, 7/14/17)
 
  
4) Uber & Lyft have Rolled into Binghamton (Press & Sun Bulletin, 6/29/17)
  
5) Factors Affecting States Ability to Respond to Federal Medicaid Cuts and Caps
A colleague shared a good resource from the Kaiser Family Foundation with us. You might skim the first page. At the bottom of the document, there is a link that expands upon the information and has maps and charts for state-specific status and concerns. 
NY is specifically cited as having high-cost health care markets and access challenges. 

6) An  article in "The Atlantic"   about issues facing rural San Mateo County, California.
  
7) Strategies to Reduce the Drive Alone Mode Share
We continue to share offerings from Green Action Centre (Winnipeg). They had requested suggestions of short videos relevant to the topic, e.g. employer success stories, entertaining takes on workplace commuting, importance of a commuting options program for recruiting and retaining employees, etc.
  
You might enjoy:

Winner of an APTA Ad Wheel Award (its fun). 

b)  Here is Green Action Centre's express bus movie. No words--just music.

c) Toole Design Group won an award last year for Green Action Centre's walk/bike commuter incentive program. As a part of the award, they made a video about the program.  At this link, you will need to scroll down and click on the video below the list of awards.
                              
Binghamton Bridge Pedal
 
This year's Binghamton Bridge Pedal is coming up on August 26th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, starting and ending at TechWorks! at 123 Water Street in Binghamton. It is a family-friendly and police-escorted, 10-mile bike tour around downtown Binghamton and the river corridor. There will be stops along the way where riders can learn about local history and new development in the area. The cost is $11 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under. After the ride, Bytes and Backyard Bites will take place at TechWorks!. Riders and the public alike can sample local food and learn about technology innovation in the Southern Tier. After-event is free to all.
 
More info and registration can be found at: http://bmtsonline.com/bridgepedal.
 
Ways You Can Help
 
Join in promoting our cause! You can help spread the word and gather feedback. Share this communication with others who may be interested or let us know who to add to the distribution list. Share your ideas and those you hear from others with us. Share mobility related news, events, and images representative of your area.

Funding is critical to MMSCNY's ability to continue to respond to increasing demand for services. If you'd like to make a donation to MMSCNY, visit the RHNSCNY donation page .  

If you'd prefer to send a check, direct it to us c/o the RHNSCNY, PO Box 416, Whitney Point, NY 13862.
 
You can earmark your gift to CTC and/or GetThere by noting your designation(s) in the memo section.
 
Upcoming
Events, Conferences, Workshops, Save-the-Date


MMSCNY Advisory Committee - Thursday ,  8/17, at 12:00 Noon, STIC
   
Tioga's County Transportation Group's quarterly meeting - Friday, September 1,  at 1 pm, Tioga DSS

MMSCNY Advisory Committee meetings for the 2017 calendar year, including monthly and quarterly meetings, can be found at meeting schedule. Quarterly meetings are held immediately prior to BMTS' Coordinated Transportation Committee meetings.
Those interested in attending or learning more about MMSCNY Advisory Committee meetings should email Bill Wagner
 
 
   
 
 
       
 

Contact information:

 

Mobility Management of South Central New York (MMSCNY)

phone: 607-240-2033 

William Wagner, Director, e-mail: wwagner@rhnscny.org

Nick Cecconi, Assistant Director, e-mail: mmscny@rhnscny.org

 

GetThere Call Center phone: 1-855-373-4040

GetThere Call Center Hours
now 7:00 am to 6:00 pm weekdays
 

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