Disabled, elderly 'hit hard' by bus strike, restrictions
| • | Bus strike enters 5th day with no talks planned |
| • | Getting around without TheBus: Information you can use |
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
More than three out of four elderly and disabled patients who go to All-Star Sports & Therapy Center each week canceled their appointments because of the bus strike and restricted Handi-Van service.
Executive director Maryellen Markley said the center, which is run by the nonprofit Hawaii Services for the Disabled, usually sees about 80 patients a day for free or low-cost therapy, but only about 25 percent made it in this week.
Markley said an elderly woman who had suffered a stroke four months ago began to cry when she had to cancel a second appointment, so one of the staff went to pick her up.
For that woman and others, the therapy represents a link to regaining independence.
"She's afraid that she'll go backward," Markley said. "This is not only her therapy but her only social outlet." Before her therapy, she couldn't walk; now she's working to regain the use of her hand so she can care for herself.
Many of the disabled and elderly who rely on the Handi-Van to get to regularly scheduled classes and programs still will be without service through Tuesday because of fallout from the bus strike. And bus riders don't know when they can expect an end to the labor dispute.
Patricia Nielsen, vice president of paratransit for O'ahu Transit Services, said those regular Handi-Van riders who go to standing appointments make up about 40 percent of the 2,500 daily trips made by Handi-Van drivers. She said service would remain restricted as long as a picket line surrounds the main bus office.
Handi-Van drivers belong to the Teamsters, the same union on strike against the company that runs city buses, so the drivers won't cross a picket line, which prevents Handi-Vans from getting routine maintenance.
Officials from Handi-Van and the community organizations that depend on the $2-a-ride service for many of their clients are hopeful that service will soon return to normal.
Markley said the vast majority of their patients have chronic disabilities such as stroke, cardiac disease, cerebral palsy and are often poor, uninsured or underinsured.
"They don't have the money to pay for a cab," she said. "It's hit them really hard." She said it has been terrible to see the empty spaces where 75 percent of the patients normally would be exercising and in therapy.
The disruption to Handi-Van traffic was much worse Wednesday — with about 15 percent of the traffic handled, mostly limited to critical medical travel for appointments such as kidney dialysis — because OTS officials had cut service in preparation for an expected sympathy picket line going up outside their office.
Even if negotiations resume and the bus strike is resolved this weekend, Nielsen said it's likely that Tuesday would be the earliest all service could be restored.
The restrictions have suspended the regularly scheduled trips to and from various community programs and agencies, stranding some of the disabled and elderly at home, according to various agencies.
Nielsen said many of those who ride the Handi-Van have few other options for transportation and face other barriers to such basic needs as getting to school, the pharmacy and the supermarket.
Jan Shishido, manager of adult community services for Kuakini Health System, said Kuakini oversees three centers that provide services to about 200 elderly each week. The services include socialization, therapeutic and leisure activities.
Shishido said about a third of their clients use Handi-Van services regularly, some to get there and others to go from the program to doctors' appointments, therapy or errands.
She said many of their clients were able to make it to some of the programs yesterday with the help of family, friends and neighbors. But some were late and left early.
Shishido said any disruptions in Handi-Van service is hard on the elderly and their families, because the programs they attend "give them that sense of independence away from their families and caregivers."
While the elderly are doing crafts, cooking and karaoke, they are keeping active mentally and physically, doing things they enjoyed before a disability slowed them down.
"We're worried that there probably will be a decline in their health," Shishido said, as well as a negative effect on their caregivers, who often also need breaks.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
