For people living with diabetes ease of transportation can make the difference between life and death.
In Hunts Point, diabetics without access to a car face a constant battle getting from home to their doctors’ office. They must rely on public transportation or ambulettes – services that are often unreliable and, sometimes, ill-suited for people with disabilities.
| Community Resources: |
| * Download Accessible Transit – New York City Subway, a Subway map for people with disabilities |
| * Read more about Access-a-Ride, including how to file service complaints |
| * Google map of ambulette companies servicing Hunts Point |
Michelle Sheldon-Rubio, a certified diabetes adult educator and coordinator at Joslin Diabetes Center in Maryland, said transportation is one of the largest barriers diabetics face when accessing care.
“It’s a big issue,” she said. “Especially the elderly because many of them don’t have spouses or significant others to get them to appointments and many of them are dealing with other issues like blindness and stroke.”
A 2006 study by researchers at the University of Vermont found that diabetics who lived far from their medical care site skimped on doctor’s visits and suffered persistently high blood sugar levels.
In another UVM study, researchers found that adults with Type 2 diabetes who lived further than 10 km (6.2 miles) away from their doctors were almost 12 percent less likely to use insulin than those who lived near by.
Patients typically see their doctors every few months, depending on the type of diabetes and their overall health. Some, whose conditions are severe or complicated by other illness, must make more frequent trips to the doctor, hospital and pharmacy.
Watch the clips below for a closer look at the role transportation plays for people living with diabetes in Hunts Point.
| Norma Escovito |
| Norma Escovito, 65, was diagnosed with diabetes 20 years ago. She uses a wheelchair due to complications from knee surgery she had eight years ago. Every other week, she visits her doctor for regular check ups. Escovito relies on public transportation and ambulette services to get around.
Escovito has tried Access-A-Ride, an alternative to ambulettes, but says that after a few bad experiences with service, she will never use it again. |
| Chenet Saunders |
| As a dialysis patient, Chenet Saunders, 48, relies on ambulette services to take her to appointments at St. Barnabas Dialysis Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
She used to ride a city bus, but had to start using the ambulette this past July because of complications with her dialysis. One morning in February, she woke up and couldn’t move her legs. She now gets around with a walker and cane and uses Access-A-Ride to go grocery shopping and to the mall. |
-Djenny Passe-Rodriguez
