VA looking for volunteer drivers

SALT LAKE CITY — You know something is important if "91 years young" Hal Bartlett comes from Bountiful to Salt Lake City — and its not for a doctor's appointment.

The U.S. Navy veteran was at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday to talk about the importance of volunteer drivers for the local facility. If he had not had someone to drive him to his appointments years ago, he simply would not have gone to them, opting to miss out on medical care, altogether.

Bartlett also knows not every veteran in the Salt Lake Valley has the privilege of a free roundtrip ride to the VA. That needs to change, according to Bartlett.

"I hear they need some drivers to help," he said. "I think it would be an honor to drive for the vets. They've served our country and it's just an honor to help the VA. I had a driver before who used to drive me back and forth to Ogden and I really appreciated it. And he appreciated helping me. It's about the help. We need it."

The request from the Bartlett — and the Salt Lake VA — is simple: They are in dire need of drivers for their transportation program. And the help is needed now.

The VA's transportation service is not a seldom-used program. Between October 2023 and last month, the VA answered an estimated 9,000 requests for rides. Close to 1,200 requests went unscheduled due to a lack of drivers during that time, showing how many veterans are impacted by the shortage.

Prior to the pandemic, VA staff say there were an estimated 30 to 50 drivers willing to get veterans to appointments. As the people who donated the vans — Disabled American Veterans with the help of Ford Motor Company — explained, drivers during 2020 and 2021 were concerned about being in confined spaces, getting the vaccine and driving all over the valley during the pandemic and afterward.

The drivers have yet to come back from the pandemic. The longer they are gone, the more staff at the VA prepare to find others to do the work. It has not been easy, however.

"Our goal is to get every veteran who needs care to the VA. We spread ourselves thin when we need to. But now we need drivers," said Mitchell Carter, mobility manager for the VA. He coordinates rides for veterans. "The number of rides we handle now is more than I feel comfortable with.

"Without a robust volunteer program, it's been a little difficult."

A vehicle is not necessary to volunteer, and all volunteers are trained on how to deal with each ride. All riders in the vans must also be ambulatory, as veterans who need wheelchair access are transported by other VA vans.

Steve Herrman from Millcreek has been driving for the VA for the last four years, serving as a volunteer at the medical center for the last 11. The Korean War veteran decided to serve his peers as a way for him to get through his own issues that he believed other vets had experienced as well.

He has enjoyed the job and thinks other people would enjoy it, too, especially veterans with some time on their hands.

"There's a lot of benefits from talking to these, um, mature adults. Talking to these guys and being with them and helping them out," Herrman said. "You meet these guys and you learn from each of these guys. You meet these guys and you're all the same. Anyone could do it to help the older generation, the older vets."

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