News
Missed Our Recent Transportation Webinar? Catch the Recording!
- By: USAging
- On: 08/22/2016 16:09:26
- In: Hot Topics in Aging
Last week, nearly 400 people from organizations across a broad spectrum of professional sectors, including higher education, health insurance, housing, transportation, military and government, participated in a webinar entitled Innovative Routes in Transportation, which is now available online.
The webinar, which was hosted by n4a, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) and NASUAD, provided innovative solutions and best practices to address access to transportation challenges faced by communities nationwide.
n4a Transportation Program Director and National Aging & Disability Transportation Center (NADTC) Co-Director Virginia Dize fielded a wide range of questions, including how to strengthen access to transportation in rural communities where options may be limited. The recently launched NADTC was established to promote the availability and accessibility of transportation options for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers.
Dize was joined by n4a colleague Patrice Earnest, Director of the Eldercare Locator, who explained the importance of having a robust information and referral system, like the Atlanta Regional Commission's Area Agency on Aging database which was used to build their One Call—One Click Mobility Center, to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities are truly connected with all of their transportation options.
According to Earnest, challenges accessing transportation, especially for medical appointments, is consistently the top-ranked reason older adults call the Eldercare Locator. “The interest in this topic, as evidenced by the fact that we had people representing virtually every professional sector, clearly stems from the fact that this is an issue that touches every part of our community,” said Earnest.