The 16th Biennial Federal Transit Administration State Programs Meeting / 2015 State Public Transit Partnerships Conference was held August 12-14, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The conference focused on education and training related to a host of topics, with an emphasis on partnerships to improve health care access. Doris Boeckman, Missouri Public Transit Association executive director, and Suzanne Alewine, Missouri Rural Health Association executive director were invited to attend. Alewine presented on Missouri’s HealthTran initiative during the Rides to Wellness panel presentation.
The Rides to Wellness session focused on innovations occurring in the area of successful health and transportation initiatives. With 36 million boardings every weekday nationally, approximately 7,700 transit providers in the U.S., and 46% of U.S. households with no access, it is imperative to identify new ways to partner. The number of adults age 65 and older is continuing to grow, one in five Americans has a disability, and healthcare is shifting from inpatient to outpatient care. The key message left with participants was that “no one size fits all”, that flexibility is vital, and that partnerships are more important than ever.
The event was hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, partnering with the American Public Transportation Association, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and Community Transportation Association of America.