The Florence Sylvester Senior Center in Laguna Hills was the scene of good cheer last week when Age Well Senior Services received a grant of $510,000 to procure six hybrid vehicles to provide transportation to older adults.
The new vehicles will replace aging-out gas guzzlers in the nonprofit’s fleet of vehicles, which provide door-to-door rides to doctor’s appointments, hospital visits and other nonemergency medical services throughout South Orange County, as well as rides to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Long Beach, all for a $2 fee per ride.
State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, secured the grant from the 2023-24 state budget, with approval by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Elected last November, Blakespear said she had committed herself to improving the lives of seniors, along with creating affordable housing and aiding the homeless.
“I am proud to get this through the budget in my first year,” she said of the grant during the check presentation at the senior center Thursday, Nov. 9.
Steve Moyer, CEO of Age Well, said the new vehicles are much needed: They “will pave the way for enhanced nonemergency medical transportation, ensuring our seniors have access to the care they deserve.”
Seth Teigen, CEO of Providence Mission Hospital, also was on hand at the senior center.
“This program will ease the way for seniors and enable them to receive the preventative care that will help them thrive,” he said.
Blakespear’s Senate District 38 runs from northern San Diego County to southern Orange County.
“It’s our seniors’ ability to get around that holds a special place in my concerns and also for personal reasons,” she said.
Blakespear told of her father, who, after breaking his neck in a fall, had difficulty finding transportation to medical appointments. During that time, she was the mayor of Encinitas, and her schedule made it hard for her to help her father, she said.
“It was immensely challenging to find accessible,…
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