Andrews – The Disabled American Veterans van hasn’t been getting as much mileage lately. Shortly after the pandemic began in March, Charles George Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville halted the transportation service to lessen the spread of the coronavirus among veterans, said George Bendzen, commander of the local DAV chapter.
“The VA still controls the van,” Bendzen said. “So they saw it was in the best interest of everybody to suspend it.”
Craig Doane, the medical center’s chief of voluntary services, said the Veteran Transportation Service was continuing to service veterans who needed transportation to appointments, but the Veteran Transportation Network, which the DAV van is under, was on hold “in the interest of safety to both our veterans and volunteers.” The Veteran Transportation Service uses full-time VA employees instead of volunteers like the DAV van.
Done would not elaborate on if the service would actually regularly drive 2-2.5 hours to pick up local veterans, bring them to the medical center, then return them home – at least eight hours of driving for an employee based in Asheville.
Cherokee County Commissioner Jan Griggs, former county veteran services officer and a major advocate for the van, said the Veteran Transportation Service has certain need requirements for that service, and it typically makes very few trips to Cherokee County. She doubted it would be making the trips local veterans need.
“I understand the VA hospital wanting to keep everyone safe,” Griggs said. “We all need to be safe.”
She said Cherokee County Transit is still running with protocols to keep everyone as safe as possible. She believes the VA should be able to do the same for the DAV van.
“Let us use that van,” she said.
Jack Moody, who organizes the volunteers and transportation of veterans for the local DAV, said the van has clear acrylic barriers between each seat to help protect passengers and the driver. The VA also furnished them with masks, sanitizer, thermometers, a list of screening questions and instructions on how to use each tool.
In October, Moody was told that they may be able to start transporting veterans again in December, However, he was recently told it is off indefinitely.
“It’s not looking good,” Moody said. “We don’t know.”
Doane said there were no hard timelines.
“We continue to monitor the COVID-19 changing conditions and will reinstate VTN services as soon as safely possible,” Doane said.
Moody was disappointed that he had to suspend the van’s service. He had close to 100 “frequent flyers” – or veterans in need of transportation on a regular basis. Trips were at least once a week, and usually had 1-4 people in the van that could seat 12.
While many appointments were being done virtually due to COVID-19, there were still appointments for tests that could not be done remotely.
“They’re still having to get there somehow,” Bendzen said.
Moody and a few others took it upon themselves to help those veterans and give them rides in their own personal vehicles. They are doing it on their own time, out of kindness, and not in affiliation with any organization or the VA.
“I look at it this way,” Moody said. “I may be in their predicament myself some day.”
“It’s outstanding,” Bendzen said. “I don’t know any other word besides outstanding. That’s going above and beyond.
“Jack really carried the ball on this, and God bless him for it.”
When the van is allowed to run again, Moody said he will be in need of more volunteers to drive the vans. At one time, he had 12 drivers, but today he only has five. Volunteers do not need to be veterans, but they do need to go through a screening process with the VA that includes passing an FBI background check, passing a physical and having a valid driver’s license with a good driving record.
For details, call 828-347-2981. Anyone needing the Veteran Transportation Service should call 828-298-7911, Ext. 2916, at least 24 hours in advance of their appointment to schedule a ride. Doane also noted that the Franklin VA clinic, which is closer to Cherokee County, can be contacted at 828-369-1781.