St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea announces launch of free WAVE transportation service in Stockbridge, starting in April

by Mary Jo David

It’s been just over five months since Family Medicine of Stockbridge closed in late September 2019, and medical practitioners Tonya Sexton, D.O., and Nicole Ehinger, N.P.-C., relocated to IHA Family and Internal Medicine in Howell. The closure left a gaping hole in the Stockbridge community, especially among residents who don’t have reliable transportation and many older residents who are not comfortable driving the distance to Howell or Chelsea for medical care.

Members of the community were quite vocal about their concerns when word came down from St. Joseph Mercy and IHA that the local office would be closing.

At the time, St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea president and CEO, Nancy Graebner, alluded to the possibility of the health system extending transportation services to Stockbridge residents, but there was no firm plan in place. On Feb. 24, 2020, St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea announced it would be introducing a free public transportation initiative in Stockbridge through the Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE) service.

Set to begin service on April 1, 2020, the shuttle is a strategic priority for the hospital to assist in reducing social isolation and improving transportation within the communities it serves. The hospital has purchased a 12-person van with a wheelchair lift and will provide funding to support weekday shuttle service between Stockbridge and Chelsea on scheduled days each week.

The new service will rotate scheduled service days with the community of Manchester. The shuttle will make four round-trips per day from Stockbridge to Chelsea on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and from Manchester to Chelsea on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Stockbridge will have two not-yet-designated shuttle stops where people can pick up the shuttle. Disabled individuals within a three-quarter-mile radius from each stop can make reservations to be picked up directly.

The WAVE shuttle will travel from Stockbridge to Chelsea and back again. While in Chelsea, the shuttle will drop off passengers at their desired location within the community. The shuttle is not limited to health-care appointments. Passengers may take the shuttle for trips to the grocery store, medical appointments, pharmacy visits, or other shopping in Chelsea.

Once in Chelsea, passengers may also use additional WAVE bus routes that run throughout Chelsea and in Dexter and Ann Arbor. Advance scheduling is not required at these shuttle stops unless pick-up of disabled individuals is necessary. Travel on these other WAVE routes may require a fee.

As a not-for-profit hospital, St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea engages local community members every three years to participate in a Community Health Needs Assessment. Social Influencers of health, particularly social isolation due to lack of transportation, is routinely identified as a top concern.

“The communities of Stockbridge and Manchester currently have no public transportation options,” Graebner noted. “As a community leader, St. Joe’s Chelsea is stepping up to improve access to resources and services, in collaboration with WAVE, for those who live in our surrounding rural communities.”

For information about the shuttle, call WAVE at 734-475-9494.

Stay tuned to the Stockbridge Community News for information, when it becomes available, on where the designated shuttle stops will be located in the Stockbridge community.