More rides for seniors in 2015

SCC ups budget almost $50k

The Board of County Commissioners amended the 2015 county budget on Tuesday, January 27, in order to renew an annual service contract between the county and the Gunnison Valley Health Senior Care Center (SCC). To accommodate expansion, funding is $68,000 for 2015, a nearly $50,000 increase over last year.

This appropriation of funds will add ride service for seniors on Tuesdays and transportation routes on the busiest days of the year, and will help with expanding the program’s outreach. The Senior Resources Department says it hopes the increased service will result in 75 percent of those surveyed (who receive home-based services) reporting an improved quality of life.
In a phone discussion, Senior Care director Wade Baker said in the past four years of the program’s existence it has had a single bus providing transports on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “With only one bus doing pickups and drop offs, riders would often end up having to wait,” he said. “We want people to get back to thinking this is a really nice program and not having to wait so long to get a ride or be dropped off.”
Baker explained how the Senior Care Center originally picked those days because the majority of users go to the Young at Heart Lunch and also do grocery shopping and run errands. “Now we’ll have two busses and two drivers for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and we’ve also added one bus and one driver for Tuesdays. A lot of people weren’t able to get to their doctor’s appointments on Tuesdays.”
Baker justified the $50,000 budget increase, saying, “The operating cost to do one day per year is about $10,000 per year for each bus. So if we now do seven total units (three days with two buses and two drivers, and one day with one), we believe the new amount will fully fund the program.”
In 2014, the Senior Care Center had 234 riders and conducted 3,861 one-way trips.
“In terms of our long term goal…” Baker said, “We’ve estimated that about $150,000 would allow us to have seven days of transportation and evening hours and expand our service area. This is definitely a nice step in the right direction.”