FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2005
For additional information contact:
Amy Morris, Community Relations Coordinator
(616) 336-2220
Kent County Task Force on Health Care for People of Color and the Kent County Emergency Needs Task Force Publish Transportation Resource Directory
(Grand Rapids, MI) – The Kent County Task Force on Health Care for People of Color and the Emergency Needs Task Force (ENTF) Transportation Subcommittee have published the Kent County Health Care Transportation Resource Directory.
The directory is a result of a recommendation by the Task Force on Health Care for People of Color to increase access to healthcare services through coordinated transportation projects. The directory was designed to help people easily obtain information on the availability of transportation services.
Studies indicate that one of the barriers to health care for underserved populations in Kent County is the lack of access to transportation resources within the community. This, in turn, prevents people from accessing appropriate healthcare services in a timely manner. The resource directory contains address and contact information for more than 40 agencies that provide transportation services throughout the county.
The Task Force on Health Care for People of Color was established in 2001. Their mission is to examine the issue of health care for people of color, determine what the County is doing to resolve existing barriers and develop recommendations for the removal of these barriers.
Kent County’s Emergency Needs Task Force Transportation Subcommittee has worked since 2002 to ensure that transportation is economically and easily available for all people to access basic needs, including medical care, employment, food, faith activities, social events, and social services.
Copies of the Kent County Health Care Transportation Resource Directory can be requested by contacting the Kent County Health Department at (616) 336-3839. A downloadable version of the directory is also available at: www.accesskent.com/Health/HealthDepartment/Publications.
