Hospital Discharge Transportation in Northern Virginia — 3-Hour Lead Time

Home, to rehab, or on to a nursing home

Most discharges go one of three ways, and we run all of them.

Home. The most common trip. The crew picks the patient up on the unit or in the discharge lounge, takes them home and gets them inside, into a chair or a bed, not left at the front door.

To a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility. After a hip replacement, a stroke or a long stay, many patients go on to rehab before home. Give us the facility name and the unit, and we hand the patient off to the receiving staff.

Between facilities. We run scheduled transfers between facilities when the patient is stable, such as hospital to rehab or hospital to a nursing home. What we do not do is move a patient from one hospital to another for a higher level of care. That is an ambulance trip.

For patients going home on hospice, see hospice discharge. For a patient who will need regular rides afterwards, to dialysis, therapy or follow-up appointments, we can set up a standing order before they leave.

The three-hour lead time

Lead time is the constraint a discharge planner is actually managing. The question is never how quickly someone answers the phone; it is how late you can call and still get this patient home today.

Our answer is three hours, from the call to the vehicle at the door, for ambulatory, wheelchair and stretcher. If the floor clears a patient at two in the afternoon, the patient leaves today rather than holding a bed overnight. Booking 24 hours ahead guarantees availability.

Two things make it work. Dispatch is staffed overnight, so an early-morning discharge is booked by a person rather than a voicemail. And our cancellation window is two hours, deliberately shorter than the lead time, so a booking made at three hours’ notice is never inside its own cancellation window if the discharge slips.

Families: the most useful thing you can do is call as soon as discharge looks likely, even before the paperwork is finished. We would rather hold a slot and move it than start from scratch at four o’clock.

Wheelchair, stretcher or ambulatory

The level of service depends on how the patient moves today, not how they moved before admission. The nurse can usually tell you in one sentence.

Ambulatory. The patient can walk to the vehicle with a steadying arm, a cane or a walker.

Wheelchair transportation. The patient can sit upright safely for the whole ride. They stay in the chair; if they do not have one, we bring one.

Stretcher transportation. The patient cannot sit upright, is bedbound, or has been told to stay flat after surgery. Two crew members run every stretcher discharge, bed to bed.

Bariatric. Patients over 300 pounds, with equipment rated for the weight. Give us as much notice as you can.

Booking the wrong level is the most common reason a discharge slips: a patient booked as wheelchair who turns out to need a stretcher means the vehicle at the door cannot take them.

Discharge transportation vs. a taxi, rideshare or ambulance

If the patient needs monitoring or medical care during the ride, that is an ambulance. If they need help getting home safely but no care on the way, that is us.

How a discharge pickup works

1. You call or book. By phone at (703) 304-7889, online through the reservations page, or by email at Reservations@hmtransport.com. We need the patient’s name, the hospital, unit and room, the destination, the level of service, weight if near 300 pounds, any oxygen, and the number of steps at the destination.
2. We confirm. You get a confirmation call or text within two hours of booking, with the pickup time and the quoted price.
3. The crew comes to the unit. Not the curb. They meet the patient on the floor or in the discharge lounge and check in with the nurse.
4. Patient and belongings loaded. Wheelchair secured at four points, or stretcher secured with the patient belted. Walkers, bags and oxygen travel with them.
5. Inside at the other end. At home the driver gets the patient through the door and settled. At a facility the crew hands the patient off to the receiving staff.

What discharge transportation costs

A discharge is billed as a one-way trip: a pick-up fee plus mileage from the first mile. These are our 2026 private-pay rates.

What that looks like. A ten-mile wheelchair discharge home is $90 plus $30 of mileage, so $120. The same trip by stretcher is $260 plus $40, so $300. On a typical five-to-twenty-five mile discharge inside Northern Virginia, expect roughly $105 to $165 by wheelchair and $280 to $360 by stretcher.

Add-ons, named up front. Stair team, $75. After hours (before 7am or after 6pm), $30 wheelchair or $50 stretcher. Oxygen, $35 per 2L tank. Additional stop, such as the pharmacy on the way home, $20 wheelchair or $30 stretcher. Credit card processing, 3%.

The full rate card and a trip estimator are on our rates page.

Who pays for discharge transportation

Medicaid. Covered trips cost the patient nothing, but they have to be authorized by the Medicaid transportation broker rather than booked directly with us. Call the transportation number on your Medicaid ID card; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. Request H&M Transport specifically when you book your ride. If a discharge is time-critical and the authorization is not in place, call dispatch and we will tell you straight away which route gets the patient home today.

Medicare. Original Medicare does not cover wheelchair, ambulatory or stretcher van transportation. It covers ambulance transport when an ambulance is medically necessary and documented. Some Medicare Advantage plans include a transportation benefit run through a broker; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. If your plan has the benefit, book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name.

Private pay. Families booking directly pay the published rates above, quoted before the ride.

Hospitals and facilities. Facility accounts book on contracted rates, invoiced to the account rather than collected from the patient. Ask the discharge planner whether the hospital has an arrangement with us.

Hospitals we discharge from every day

Our crews know the discharge lounges, loading entrances and elevator routes at each of these:

• Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Inova Alexandria Hospital
• Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
• Inova Loudoun Hospital
• Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
• UVA Health Prince William Medical Center
• Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center
• VHC Health, Arlington
• Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring
• Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

We also run discharges from UVA Health Haymarket, StoneSprings, Reston, Mary Washington and Stafford hospitals, and across the river from Georgetown, GW, Sibley and Howard. See all the hospitals we serve.

Discharges go home across the whole region: Manassas · Woodbridge · Fairfax · Alexandria · Arlington · Chantilly · Springfield · Ashburn · Leesburg · Haymarket · Warrenton · Culpeper · Fredericksburg · Winchester · Silver Spring, MD.

Where we run wheelchair rides

Going home in a wheelchair? Each city page names the hospitals in that area and how pickups work there: Manassas · Gainesville · Stafford · Woodbridge · Lorton · Springfield · Fairfax · Chantilly · Reston · Tysons · Falls Church · Alexandria · Arlington · Ashburn · Sterling · Leesburg · Washington, DC · Silver Spring, MD · Bethesda, MD · Rockville, MD

For discharge planners and case managers

The discharges that go wrong almost always go wrong because of something that could have been said in fifteen seconds on the phone. When you book, tell us:

• Level of service. Can the patient sit upright safely for the ride, or not?
• Weight, if it is near or above 300 pounds.
• Stairs at the destination. The most commonly missed item. A patient who managed their front steps before admission may not manage them today.
• Oxygen or equipment traveling with the patient, and the flow rate.
• The receiving unit and a contact if the patient is going to a facility.

Facility accounts get a dispatch line that knows you, contracted rates agreed once, consolidated billing and every level of service from one vendor. Details are on our page for facilities. For the rides after discharge day, such as follow-ups, therapy and dialysis, see our guide to care coordination transportation.

Booking, notice and cancellations

• Same-day discharges: call (703) 304-7889 and speak with dispatch.
• Notice: we need a minimum of three hours notice for discharges and same-day requests, and we cover most of them inside that window. Booking 24 hours ahead guarantees availability.
• Trip details: use the notes field for the unit and room, the level of service, any oxygen, and the number of steps at the destination.
• Stairs: if the patient needs to be carried up or down stairs, it adds $75 for the stair team.
• Weight: for patients over 300 lbs, select bariatric service.
• Changes and cancellations: please cancel or change more than two hours before pickup to avoid a fee, by phone, by email at Reservations@hmtransport.com, or in our mobile app.

Hospital discharge transportation FAQ

How quickly can you pick up a hospital discharge?

We need a minimum of three hours notice, and we cover most discharges inside that window. Call (703) 304-7889 as soon as discharge looks likely, even before the paperwork is done. We would rather hold a slot and adjust the time than start from scratch when the patient is already waiting by the nurses’ station.

How much does discharge transportation cost?

A discharge is billed as a one-way trip. By wheelchair or ambulatory it is $90 plus $3.00 per mile, so a ten-mile ride home is $120. By stretcher it is $260 plus $4.00 per mile, so the same ten miles is $300. Add-ons such as stairs or oxygen are quoted before you book.

Does Medicare pay for a ride home from the hospital?

Original Medicare does not cover wheelchair, ambulatory or stretcher van transportation. It covers ambulance transport when an ambulance is medically necessary and documented. Some Medicare Advantage plans include a transportation benefit run through a broker; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. If your plan has the benefit, book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name.

Does Virginia Medicaid cover discharge transportation?

Covered trips cost the rider nothing, but they have to be authorized by the Medicaid transportation broker rather than booked directly with us. Call the transportation number on your Medicaid ID card; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. Request H&M Transport specifically when you book your ride.

Can you take a patient home who lives alone?

Yes. We run door-through-door, so the driver gets the patient inside the home and settled, not just to the curb. Tell us about steps at the house when you book so the right crew is sent.

Can you take a patient to a skilled nursing or rehab facility?

Yes. That is one of the most common trips we run. Give us the facility name and the unit or room, and we bring the patient in and hand them off to the receiving staff.

Do you transfer patients between facilities?

Yes, when the patient is stable, such as hospital to rehab or hospital to a nursing home. We do not move a patient from one hospital to another for a higher level of care; that is an ambulance trip.

Should the patient go home by wheelchair or stretcher?

If the patient can sit upright safely for the whole ride, book wheelchair; it costs much less. If they cannot sit upright, are bedbound or were told to stay flat after surgery, book stretcher. If you are not sure, ask the nurse or call dispatch and describe the patient.

Can a family member ride along?

In most cases, yes. Tell us when you book so we assign a vehicle with the seat available.

Can the patient bring oxygen, a walker and their belongings?

Yes. Walkers, canes and personal belongings travel with the patient. Riders can bring their own portable oxygen, or we can supply it at $35 per 2L tank. Tell us the flow rate when you book.

Is discharge transportation the same as an ambulance?

No. There is no medical care or monitoring on board, and we do not take anyone to an emergency room. If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

Do you transport patients on isolation precautions, such as C. diff, MRSA or COVID?

Yes, with notice. Tell us about any isolation precautions when you book. The crew wears the protective equipment the precautions call for, and the vehicle is disinfected after the trip. An additional charge applies, and dispatch will quote it when you book.

Can you transport a rider who weighs over 300 pounds?

Yes. Our bariatric service uses specialized vehicles with wider ramps and roomier interiors, and we add a second crew member when the transfer calls for it. Call with the rider’s weight and how they move, so we send the right vehicle and crew. Bariatric round trips start at $100 per leg.

Do you provide hospice and end-of-life transportation?

Yes. We take hospice patients home from the hospital, between facilities and to appointments, by wheelchair or by stretcher with two crew. We work with the hospice agency on timing, move at the family’s pace, and a family member can ride along.

Which hospitals do you drive to?

All of them in our service area, for appointments, admissions and discharges. That includes Inova Fairfax, Inova Alexandria, Inova Fair Oaks, Inova Loudoun and Inova Mount Vernon, UVA Health Prince William, Sentara Northern Virginia, Virginia Hospital Center, and in Maryland, Holy Cross Hospital and Adventist HealthCare White Oak. We never take anyone to an emergency room; for an emergency, call 911.

Related services

Wheelchair transportation · Stretcher transportation · Hospice discharge · Dialysis transportation · Long distance transport · For facilities · All services