Transportation for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Therapy

Why these riders can’t drive themselves

Offloading devices. The entire point of treating a diabetic foot ulcer is keeping weight off it — a total contact cast, a removable boot, a specialized shoe. None of them work on a pedal, and several make driving unlawful as well as unsafe.

Neuropathy. The condition that caused the ulcer is usually the condition that means the patient cannot feel their feet, which is a driving problem before it is anything else.

The wound gets worse before the appointment, not after. Patients frequently arrive at wound care having deteriorated during the week, which is why they’re there.

Hyperbaric adds its own. Patients often feel tired and occasionally light-headed after a dive, and ear discomfort is common. It is not a state for driving home.

Elevation matters on the journey. For a lower-limb wound, keeping the leg elevated during the trip is frequently part of the care plan. Tell us and the crew positions for it.

How the ride works

Set up a standing order rather than rebooking every week. You tell us the days, the times and the destination once. The trip stays on our schedule, and the same crews tend to see the same riders — which matters more than it sounds like it should, because a driver who has done this run before knows which door, how long the appointment really takes, and whether this rider needs the vehicle warm before they get in.

Tell us about the dressing and the boot. A bulky dressing or a cast boot changes how the rider gets into the vehicle and how much room they need.

Tell us if the leg needs elevating. We can position for it, but not if we find out at the door.

Wound care appointments run long and unpredictably. Debridement takes as long as it takes. A call-back return usually works better than a fixed time.

Many of these riders are also on dialysis. If that’s the case, tell us — we can often build both schedules into one standing arrangement.

What it costs

Ambulatory and wheelchair transportation round trips are $55 per leg with five miles included on each leg, plus $3 a mile beyond that. On a recurring schedule that’s the figure to plan around. Stretcher service is $230 per leg.

Our full rate card and trip estimator is published — you can work out the price before you call. Medicaid members should book through their plan’s transportation broker rather than through us; the number is on the back of the member’s ID card. Medicare generally does not cover non-emergency medical transportation.

What we can’t take

H&M Transport runs non-emergency medical transportation. We carry people to scheduled medical care and back home again, and the ride itself is transport rather than treatment.

That means there are trips we can’t take. We are not an ambulance service. We don’t provide medical care or monitoring on board, we don’t transport anyone to an emergency room, and we don’t move patients from one hospital to another for a higher level of care. Those are ambulance trips, and they need a crew and a vehicle equipped for them.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

If you’re not sure which you need, call us and describe the situation. We would rather tell you to dial 911 than send the wrong vehicle.

Common questions

What if the appointment runs long or I don’t know my return time?

Book the return as a will-call. If you can, call dispatch a little before your appointment wraps up, and we’ll start a driver your way so you wait as little as possible. If you can’t call until you’re finished, that’s fine: we’ll route the closest available driver, and our standard is to pick you up within 45 minutes of your call. The earlier you call, the shorter your wait. If you’d rather have the driver wait on site, prescheduled wait time is $75 an hour for wheelchair trips and $100 an hour for stretcher trips.

How do I ask for H&M Transport through Virginia Medicaid?

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. Covered rides to medical appointments cost the member nothing.

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.

Book the ride

Weekly or twice-weekly for months is exactly what a standing order is for. One call sets it up.

Call dispatch at (703) 304-7889, any hour, or start on our reservations page and we’ll call you back.

We serve Northern Virginia, Washington DC and the Maryland suburbs, and we hold WMATC authority 3449 for crossings into the District and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.