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A New Look
This edition of
The Milepost, our 14th, features a new look for our ongoing communication to key constituents, community organizations, and other interested individuals in o
r near our five-county service area. We will continue to use it to convey periodic updates on mobility and transportation-related issues and initiatives. It is one step in our efforts to educate and inform people about mobility - what's out there; what's going on; what we are doing; future plans and aspirations.
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WE ARE GETTHERE
We are celebrating a new name and a new home, plus some new offerings, including staff and programs.
We will no longer be known as Mobility Management of South Central New York. We are Getthere, a mobility management program of Rural Health Network.
Our services will continue from
455 Court
Street in Binghamton, where Rural Heath Network has leased space. We will be housed along with fellow staff members from Rural Health Network.
Getthere phone numbers and hours will remain the same. (Call Center phone: 1-855-373-4040; hours: 7 am - 7 pm weekdays.) Our new mailing address
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new home for Getthere |
The new location will provide quality work space for our growing staff and improve operating efficiencies. Our five-county service area remains the same. Our mission remains the same while we offer increased services, such as our Transportation to Employment Program and our new and improved Website with Trip Planner capacity described below.
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Welcoming New Getthere Team Members
Getthere is a team effort. With each staff addition, the team grows stronger and better able to
assist those with transportation barriers though the pursuit of
more transportation innovations for rural, upstate New York.
Stephanie Button
joined the Getthere staff this month as a Mobility and Transportation Advocate. For as long as she can remember she has had an urge to help others. She has always wanted a fulfilling job where she could have an impact on the lives of other people.
H
er focus became disability-based, and personal, when her mom became sick in 2012. She experienced firsthand the dire need for people in rural communities to have access to medical care.
Before joining Getthere, Stephanie worked with the elderly at Gracious Living Estates in Montrose, PA. She also worked at Black Bear Winery in Chenango Forks, where she enjoyed conducting wine tastings. Meeting and interacting with new people were enjoyable, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else she was meant to do. That is when she found Rural Health Network, and she is very excited to join the Getthere team.
When she's not at work, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé, their two kids, and their dog.
Shane Solar-Doherty has joined the Getthere team as the Transportation to Employment Coordinator. This announcement marks the fruition of a lengthy effort to develop transportation to employment services for Getthere -- specifically vanpool and ridesharing services.
Shane has worked as a farmer in Western Massachusetts growing food for 275 families, a project manager helping schools obtain free solar panels, and a volunteer
coordinator pairing NYC elementary school students with adult mentors. Before becoming the Transportation to Employment Coordinator, Shane worked as the Urban Farm Manager for VINES and studied at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, with a focus on developing equitable and sustainable regional food systems. Having moved to the Southern Tier in January, Shane is originally from the Lower Hudson Valley and holds a BA in Writing & Literature from Emerson College.
Shane's commitment to improving resources and services for underserved communities will serve our area and residents who face transportation challenges well!
Kara Fisher is ano
ther new face at Getthere. She too is a Mobility and Transportation Advocate.
Kara grew up in Buffalo, New York and has always had a passion for helping others and the desire to make a difference. After graduating from Gannon University with a Bachelor's degree in Health Science, she continued her education at Binghamton University, earning a Masters in Public Administration.
Kara has volunteered with a variety of organizations that serve senior citizens and individuals with disabilities. In this capacity, she learned about the challenges vulnerable populations face. In her role at Getthere, Kara hopes to use her educational and volunteer background to help serve the community.
Both Stephanie and Kara will be working out of the Getthere Call Center, providing case management, information and referral services, trip planning, travel training, and transportation education services.
Each of the above will play an integral role in our ability to
extend outreach and expand service throughout
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Open For Business
The Transportation to Employment Program
The Transportation to Employment Program (TEP) is an important new offering from Getthere that will benefit residents of Binghamton who are unemployed, under-employed, and seeking employment, who have identified transportation as a barrier to employment. TEP seeks to develop a sustainable transportation to employment strategy for individuals referred to the program.
TEP was designed with two components -- a transportation voucher service and a vanpool service.
Referrals for the voucher program will be provided by community partners working in job placement programs. TEP coordinator, Shane Solar-Doherty, will work with individuals that have been referred to develop a sustainable strategy for transportation to employment by utilizing the most cost effective and appropriate mode of transportation. It will highlight multiple ways for an individual to commute to employment without actually owning an automobile.
Getthere has started to receive referrals for the voucher part of the program, and has seen success in developing a customized and sustainable strategy. Initial costs of these strategies may be offset by Getthere TEP.
In other TEP news, we are moving forward with the purchase of two vans. TEP staff have met with multiple businesses that have large employee bases. The Vanpool business model is built utilizing the Wealthworks Rural Economic Development strategy and we are working with Shanna Ratner of Yellow Woods Associates, Inc. to develop this strategy and plan of assessment. A Getthere Vanpool will provide a cost effective and sustainable strategy for individuals to commute to work without the expense of a personal auto.
Binghamton-Broome Anti-Poverty Initiative (BBAPI) funding has made TEP possible. Rural Health Network is one of 12 organizations selected to implement projects under Governor Cuomo's Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI), through the Binghamton-Broome Anti-Poverty Initiative (BBAPI). Use this link to find out more about the Binghamton-Broome Anti-Poverty Initiative, an initiative of United Way of Broome County.
If you are interested in more details about the TEP program, contact Shane Solar-Doherty, Getthere's Transportation to Employment Program Coordinator.
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A Coming Attraction
Website with Trip Planner
Another Getthere offering is our new website, featuring a trip planner. We are pleased to announce it is almost ready to go live! We thank you all for your
input and commitment to this initiative.
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some feedback received during the testing phase |
Our staff and some friends and partners have been testing this product. Infojini is addressing issues identified; editing and corrections are taking place over the next several days. Our plan is to go live in late September. Then, we will launch the site more broadly in October, when marketing and training will begin.
We think this will become a great asset to the healthcare community and the individuals we serve, and look forward to sharing the new site with everyone soon.
This project is possible because of a Care Compass Network (CCN) award from their Inaugural Innovation Fund, designed as a way for CCN to work with partners to identify creative, alternative ways to support the improvement of healthcare access for Medicaid members.
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Search for Nearby Transportation Providers
with Best Possible Route
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Metrics Quick View
Connection to Care is on pace to help more than twice as many people in 2018.
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2017: Jan. - Aug. 256 cases
2018: Jan. - Aug. 582 cases
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Quote of the Day
"You not only made my day or week or month, you made my life." (Lila)
Lila had recently contacted
Getthere for assistance. She was really worried about being able to get to medical appointments that she could NOT miss.
Anne Marie, one of Getthere's Transportation Advocates, was able to find volunteers to get her to these important appointments. Lila was happy; her response is gratifying to the Getthere team and is our quote of the day.
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County News and Notes
RFPs (Request for Proposals) to Tioga, Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties for transportation and mobility services will go out in October. We anticipate contracts with county partners for Rural Transportation and Mobility Services Development to begin in November.
Tioga County applied for and was awarded funding that will make this possible through NYS Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration 5311 Program (Formula Grants for Rural Areas). Tioga County contracts with Rural Health Network of SCNY to administer the program and provide mobility management services across the Getthere service area.
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Did You Know?
According to the
High Cost of Free Parking by Professor Donald Shoup at UCLA, the
average car spends 95% of its life parked.
Now, another fact to think about: the true cost to own and
operate a vehicle is $8,469 a year
if driven 15,000 miles per year, according to a 2017 AAA study.
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Links Of Potential Interest
Amish Uber Horse and Buggy Rides
Some Mobility Resources
CTAA - Community Transportation Association of America
FTA -
Federal Transit Administration
Move Together NY,
a newsletter from the Move Together NY Regional Transportation Project
NYPTA -
NY Public Transit Assoc., Inc.
NYSDOT -
New York State Department of Transportation
US DOT -
U.S. Department of Transportation
Our Transit Partners
BMTS - Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study
(the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Broome and Tioga Counties)
Chenango Transit
Others
NYSDOH - New York State Department of Health
NYSHF - New York State Heath Foundation
NRHA - National Rural Health Association
NYSARH -
New York State Association for Rural Health
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Upcoming
Events,
Conferences, Workshops, Save-the-Date
September 27-
29, annual New York State Association for Rural Health Conference, Greek Peak. The conference program is availale online. Among its offerings is: SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH: MEETING TRANSPORTATION NEEDS AND IT'S IMPACT
(Bill Wagner will discuss the Transportation Voucher Program as Getthere marks the beginning of the second year of this program.)
October 3, Chenango County Transportaion Group meeting, 2 pm
October 16,
Getthere Quarterly Advisory Committee, noon at STIC
November 15, National Rural Health Day 2018
December 7, Tioga County Transportation Group quarterly meeting - 1 pm, at Tioga DSS
December 13,
Getthere Quarterly Advisory Committee, noon at STIC
Those interested in attending or learning more about Getthere's Advisory Committee meetings should contact Bill Wagner.
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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.
Partner involvement and support at the local, regional, state, and national level has been critical to Getthere. We extend thanks to our numerous partners, stakeholders and funders.
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Getthere is a mobility management program of
Rural Health Network serving South Central NY
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STAY CONNECTED
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