MEDICAL ESCORT PROGRAM

Thank you for your interest in referring your client(s) to Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly’s Medical Escort and Direct Service Program (MEDS).  This letter introduces you to our program.

Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly (LBFE) is a volunteer-based program providing emotional and practical assistance to elderly people who do not have the support of family or friends in the Bay Area.  Staff recruit, train, and support volunteers who perform virtually all of the service provided by LBFE.

LBFE’s MEDS program is a program of last resort for elders who need medical escort services.  We recruit volunteers to accompany and escort homebound and isolated seniors who cannot drive and are not able to take Para transit or taxis alone, to and from medical appointments and home after a hospital stay. Trips can be one way or round trip.

Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly is not a regular transportation service – but is an important emergency resource when an elder has no other viable transportation for a medical appointment or hospital release.

Our current guidelines for elders:

•    Lives in San Francisco.
•    Isolated or frail elderly over age 60.
•    Unable to drive or take public transportation without assistance.
•    Transportation is for a medical appointment or hospital release.
•    Limit of four round trip (or eight one way) escorts per person each               program year. (Or one round trip per quarter)

Escorts are provided by trained volunteers and need to be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.  In emergency situations LBFE can schedule escorts with less than one week’s notice, but that is rare.

Scheduling an escort begins by filling out both a MEDS Client Referral Form (for new clients) as well as the Escort Form.  The Escort Form includes the need for important information such as date and time of the appointment, name, address and phone number of the doctor’s office, hospital or clinic.

I look forward to working with you to assist your clients with medical transportation.

Click here to download an elder referral form

Lucy Alfaro, Program Assistant (Hablo espanol)
lucy@littlebrotherssf.org
(415) 771-7957 x101