Dialysis Workers Honored as “Friend of Transportation”

Lane Coyle, Transportation Services Supervisor, left and Donna Harris, Transportation Specialist, both with the Department of Community Services, Debbie Gravely, La Plata; Alexis Aguilar and Kim Bales, Waldorf, and Robert Romero, Transportation Development Administration with the Department of Community Services

Kim Bales, Clinical Manager, and Alexis Aguilar, Social Worker, with the Fresenius Medical Care of Waldorf, and Debbie Gravely, Clinical Manager with the La Plata Dialysis, recently were selected as the Transportation Association of Maryland (TAM) Friend of Transportation.

TAM announced the award October 13, 2005, at its annual conference in Ocean City.

The three were nominated by the Department of Community Services, which administers VanGO, Charles County’s public transportation service. Bales, Aguilar, and Gravely worked closely with VanGO staff to help coordinate conversion of individual riders to a subscription service that has increased the available of transportation for dialysis clients as well as other seniors and individuals with disabilities who require specialized transportation services.

To implement the service, Kim, Alexis, and Debbie worked tirelessly to coordinate with patients to ease their transitions to new centers and shifts. During the initial set-up of the subscription service, more than 20 changes were accommodated by the dialysis managers. Additionally, they continue to work with VanGO to schedule and place clients as well as provide priority for VanGO dependent clients on waiting lists for appropriate placement.

Such coordination ensures that transit-dependent passengers are able to receive their critical medical treatments. VanGO is able to efficiently provide service to all subscription clients. Without the subscription service, dialysis transportation would cost well over ½ million dollars annually, a budget not available to VanGO. As a result, many clients would otherwise not have access to transportation and would not be able to receive their treatments. With the subscription service in place, made possible through the partnership with Bales, Aguilar, and Gravely, VanGO is able to accommodate most needs for just over $100,000 annually.

For more information services offered by the Department of Community Services, visit our website at www.charlescounty.org/cs or www.go-vango.com , or call the Department of Community Services at 301-934-9305 or 301-870-3388. Those citizens with special needs please contact the Maryland Relay Service at 711, or Relay Service TDD: 800-735-2258.