When Karen O’Neal leaves home for her office at the Erie VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania, she likes to say she’s going to see her second family.
As the facility’s Center for Development and Civic Engagement chief, she’s grown close to the corps of volunteers she manages. O’Neal said she sees firsthand how critical they are to the health care mission at her facility.
“I’ve been blessed to meet some of the most generous and caring people that I’ve ever known,” she said of her volunteers.
Most of the volunteers are drivers for the DAV Transportation Network, which provides no-cost rides to Department of Veterans Affairs medical appointments for veterans who need them. With 107 drivers and 28 vehicles, Erie’s program is one of the largest and most efficient in the country, bringing veterans who live in the tristate region to appointments that can be as far away as Pittsburgh; Cleveland; and Buffalo, New York.
Since DAV started the program in 1987, it’s been the source of millions of rides nationally for veterans. In 2018, its drivers gave more than 625,000 rides; however, according to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report, that number has since decreased by 50%. (DAV contributed its internal Transportation Network data for this report.)
Most of this decline is attributed to a drop in volunteers and services because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While volunteer numbers haven’t rebounded post-pandemic, the need for the service has.
DAV National Voluntary Services Director John Kleindienst said there are several reasons for this, including an aging volunteer pool, recruiting challenges and a complicated onboarding process for volunteers.
“Because each VA medical facility runs its own transportation network, there are inconsistencies in managing the program across the country,” Kleindienst said. “Programs like Karen’s in Erie have embraced how critical this service is and, in turn, have streamlined and prioritized the volunteer experience, resulting in a robust and healthy program.
“That mentality must spread across the entire VA medical facility network, or we’ll continue seeing veterans not get the lifesaving rides they need.”
At its 2024 national convention, DAV reaffirmed Resolution 337, which deals specifically with expediting the volunteer application process. Kleindienst said this is a critical first step, noting that it can take several months and several trips to a VA medical facility to complete the process.
“It’s an easy fix: standardize the process, then prioritize it,” said Kleindienst. “But this must start from the top down. It’s got to be a priority for VA leadership if we’re going to see widespread change.”
O’Neal and her team are building back up toward their pre-pandemic driver number of 160 volunteers. To do this, they’ve compressed the health physical, bloodwork, fingerprints for the background check and initial orientation into one trip to the VA medical facility. That alone has mitigated losing people’s interest in helping.
“It would turn me off, too, if I was trying to give my free time and you’re going to tell me that I have to come back five different times and it’s going to take me four months before I can even start,” O’Neal said.” I’m sorry, I’ll take my time someplace else.”
O’Neal said she finds ways to constantly recognize and thank volunteers through luncheons, banquets and awards. She also keeps her drivers engaged by using them for other initiatives, including delivering meal boxes during the holidays to veterans who can’t leave their homes.
“I thank God every day for the [volunteer transportation network] program,” O’Neal said. “It does nothing but good for our veterans. And access to health care is definitely met by the existence of the program and, of course, our generous volunteers.”
Her biggest piece of advice for a successful program: Be flexible.
“Things change every day,” O’Neal said. “And if you can alter your program to make it work for your volunteers or your potential volunteer applicants, go that extra mile to make sure they come on board and it’s easier on them.”
To learn more about being a DAV Transportation Network volunteer driver, visit driveforveterans.org or email [email protected].
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