It Started with "Wow!"

For about 20 years, Patricia Short was in the nursing field, providing hospice care. As anybody who's had any involvement with hospice knows, nurses have to really care about people and their comfort to build a career in it, let alone a 20-year career.

So perhaps it wasn't so surprising that when Patricia learned a few things about non-emergency medical transportation, she was intrigued. She might have been paying extra attention because the NEMT business owner (of Circle Transportation) telling her about it was her daughter, Keshanna. "When she told me about transportation, I was like, okay, she's just going to be picking up people. It's going to be more like a cab," recalls Patricia. "But then, when we sat at the kitchen table and she told me that she was transporting people to their medical appointments, I said, 'wow."'

Patricia didn't know NEMT existed, but she was definitely interested in this way of helping people. "It was a need," Patricia says. Her daughter said, "Mom, you should do that". So she did and BEP Smart Choice Transportation was born. And now "I'm transporting them to appointments, like chemo and dialysis, and it's been rewarding-just a whole other level. It's different than I ever experienced."

Especially that Experience
Patricia's commitment to her clients paid off for one in a bigger way than she might've expected. "This member had an infection and the doctor said to go to the ER," she recalls. "She went that day, but he wanted her to come right back the next day. She called me back and said 'Patricia, I couldn't get transportation.' So I said 'I'm going to get you down there no matter what.'"

And that proved critical. Because as it turned out, they needed to start antibiotics right away, and the member texted a message to Patricia. She said, "I'm so glad because of you. If I would have waited longer, I might not be here."

And then There's that Other Patient
Patricia has to get up at 3:00 in the morning a few days a week for a woman who needs dialysis. "I pick her up and take her to Joliet [Illinois]. It's about 27 miles." But for her and her team, it's part of the job. Or is it a job?

She doesn't quite see it that way. "It's not just a job," Patricia says. "You've got to be a 'people person' and not something fake, because it's not going to last." She and her team make about 175 trips a week, and it's especially trying during the pandemic. Her son keeps the vehicles sterilized, her husband does some of the computer work. "I'm just working hard and trying to do a great job," she says. "I want to make sure that I can get them to their appointment on time and safely."

A Hero
For being there for the people who often don't have anyone there, and for making sure those in greatest need can count on you, thank you, Patricia Short you are a hero.

Sincerely,
Modivcare's Go Digital! Team