Older Islanders might soon receive help from the Steamship Authority (SSA) to get to their medical appointments in Boston.
On Tuesday, the Port Council unanimously approved providing a bus connection from Woods Hole to Sagamore for Vineyard seniors who need to get to Boston-area hospitals for medical appointments. The request came from the Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA), and details are still being discussed.
Mark Rozum, SSA comptroller and treasurer, said he had a call with the VTA, the Dukes County Veterans Services Department, and the nonprofit Healthy Aging MV about how to handle the new program. Rozum said the VTA plans to start a pilot program next month.
“Their ask of us is to leave a vehicle at the Woods Hole terminal,” specifically in the parking lot, Rozum said.
The conceptual plan is to have walk-on passengers who arrive in Woods Hole on the 6 am trip from Vineyard Haven to take this bus, which would carry passengers Monday to Thursday, to Sagamore. The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, which already offers a reservation-only medical transportation service to Boston hospitals, would then take the passengers. A chaperone would also ensure passengers arrive to and return from Boston medical appointments, with coordination between the Cape and Island bus lines.
“The benefit is it makes it easier for the people to travel to these Boston hospital[s],” Rozum said. “Also, it’s less vehicle traffic on our vessels as well.”
Rozum also said there was a request for discounts for these passengers.
A number of seniors from Martha’s Vineyard have medical appointments in the Boston area for various reasons, and the older population is steadily rising on the Vineyard. The Healthy Aging MV website states that recent data from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute show that 39 percent of the Island’s year-round population is 60 or older, and by 2030, 10 percent of the Vineyard will be 80 or older.
Among senior Islanders, a chunk of the population are veterans. In 2019, nearly half of all Island veterans served in the Vietnam War. Among all Island veterans, 71.2 percent were 65 years or older in 2019.
And on Tuesday, the Port Council unanimously approved a discount for veterans of port communities who can provide documentation proving their status, such as a DD214 military service record. The discount mimics the one provided to seniors, so a round trip on the ferry will cost $11.50 rather than $22.
The councillors also unanimously approved providing priority booking for honor guards traveling to the Island’s ceremonial services, such as performing military funeral duties. Angela Campbell, the reservations manager, will oversee that honor guards get on the boats they need to reach their destinations. This will also not cost the SSA money as honor guard costs are reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
Both requests were made by the Dukes County Department of Veterans Services.
All three items were previously brought up in July but were postponed because of hesitation from councillors over the changes. The SSA board needs to approve them before the agenda items can be enacted. The board’s next meeting is scheduled on Aug. 18 in Hyannis.
