NEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
Grants enhance mobility for veterans in rural communities
By JEFF BUDLONG
FOR THE HERMISTON HERALD
America’s veterans pro-
vided a tremendous service
to the nation. Now, Uma-
tilla County has found a way
to extend a helping hand to
those veterans who need
assistance to receive medi-
cal care.
Seven projects aimed
at helping Oregon veter-
ans in rural communities
to more easily get to and
from medical appointments
received varying amounts
of grant money last week.
The grants are funded out
of $500,000 from the Ore-
gon Lottery, with Umatilla
County receiving $20,000
and Union County $50,000.
In Umatilla County, the
money will be directed
toward CareVan Transpor-
tation at Good Shepherd
Health Care System and its
affi liates. Services are pro-
vided to veterans in Herm-
iston, Echo, Stanfi eld and
Umatilla.
“If a veteran has an
appointment with a Good
HH fi le photo
A passenger disembarks from a CareVan at Good Shepherd Medical Center in 2016. CareVan
is one of the recipients for grant dollars designed to increase mobility for veterans in Eastern
Oregon.
Shepherd Health Care Sys-
tem doctor or physician
or other services, they can
make arrangements through
CareVan,” Umitilla County
Transportation Coordinator
Staci Kunz said. “The Care-
Van would come to their
home and pick them up for
their appointment, and then
return them to their home.
“CareVan has been a free
service, but with the excep-
tion of one other source
through Umatilla County
and ODOT, it is the only
source of funding it receives
other than donations.”
Union County’s grant
will aid an existing pro-
gram that focuses on same-
day demand available for
health care access.
“We were looking for
programs that could deliver
origin to destination rides
at no cost to the veteran,”
Regional Transit Coordi-
nator for Eastern Oregon
Frank Thomas said. “What
that might mean or how
that can look may look dif-
ferent in every community
we serve.
“We want to reduce the
barriers between the folks
who served us and the care
they earned. Every one of
the projects that were sub-
mitted did a pretty good job
of that.”
The fi rst seven proj-
ects approved by the Ore-
gon Transportation Com-
mission totaled $230,000
under the Rural Veterans’
Healthcare Transportation
Grant Program. The pro-
gram is managed jointly
by the Oregon Department
of Veterans’ Affairs and
ODOT’s Public Transpor-
tation Division.
There is a similar fed-
eral program, but Thomas
said the big difference is
the wide variety of medical
options available through
the grants.
“We worked closely
with our partners at Ore-
gon Department of Veter-
ans Affairs … to ensure
that medical service could
mean weight loss, smok-
ing succession, culturally
appropriate medicine, acu-
puncture, behavioral health
or any number of things,”
Thomas said. “The veteran
is going to tell us what they
need, and we are going to
get them where they need
to go.”
The hope is to have all
the paperwork processed
so projects can begin by
Aug. 1. A second round of
grants will be awarded this
year up to $220,000. Due to
COVID-19, the total grant
money was reduced by 10%
to ensure it would be avail-
able. All projects must be
identifi ed and the money
used by June 30, 2021.
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