Shortage of volunteer drivers impacting cancer patients in B.C.’s Southern Interior – Okanagan
The Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre in Kelowna is certainly one of BC Most cancers’s six regional care centres.
It treats sufferers from the Boundary, Cariboo, Kootenay, Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson areas of British Columbia.
One service they supply is a shuttle program, which transports sufferers from Kamloops, Vernon, Penticton, Oliver and the smaller communities in between to their appointments in Kelowna.
Nevertheless, a scarcity in volunteer drivers for ‘Wheels of Hope’ is having a direct affect on its purchasers.
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“Even like in the present day, I didn’t have a experience again to Kamloops, presumably due to the shortage of drivers,” mentioned 82-year-old Doug Parker. “My spouse needed to drive all the way down to Kelowna and decide me up and produce me again.”
In accordance with the Wheels of Hope head of volunteer recruitment, the scarcity was first felt at the beginning of the pandemic. Regardless of just a few current returnees, there’s nonetheless a necessity for extra volunteers.
“We’re very low on volunteers,” defined Wheels of Hope head of volunteer recruitment Mark Kahan.
“If there’s anybody on the market that likes to drive and enjoys serving to folks that may spare a weekday or half a day or perhaps a few days a month on an ongoing foundation, we might actually use your assist.”
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Kahan added that the service is important for therefore many causes.
“For some most cancers sufferers, they shouldn’t be driving a automobile after a few of their therapies,” described Kahan.
“They could not have a automobile or driver’s licence, and a few don’t even have any associates or relations which are accessible or have a automobile. A most cancers prognosis doesn’t simply have an effect on them, it could actually have an effect on their complete household.”
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Not having a secure experience to and from an appointment also can have devastating impacts on the affected person and their household.
“The stress of looking for transportation can simply be overwhelming and a few simply hand over,” Kahan expressed.
“So, they simply don’t go to their remedy as a result of they simply can’t discover a solution to get there.”
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For anybody seeking to make a distinction of their group and within the lives of others, there are just a few necessities.
- Legitimate driver’s licence with three or much less demerits.
- Double vaccinated.
- Should put on a masks.
- Prepared to offer a legal background examine.
Wheels of Hope additionally offers its drivers with a van, however you should use your personal automobile should you select, and the group will both reimburse your mileage or write you a tax receipt.
To enroll, click here.