MedHaul: Providing Critical Medical Transportation For Those In Need
When Erica Plybeah founded MedHaul in 2017, she never could have anticipated its life-or-death importance only three years later.
MedHaul – which has been called the “Uber of specialty medical transportation” – is making a difference by managing patient transportation to and from medical offices, clinics, and hospitals during COVID-19.
The company has been 100% digital and 100% remote even before social distancing, with staff locations spread across multiple cities and time zones. The process is simple: patients with special needs are connected to health providers with non-emergency transportation options through MedHaul’s digital platform. Transportation options include assistance for patients with wheelchairs or in need of stretchers.
Riders typically qualify as uninsured or underinsured, and due to a lack of access to personal transportation, would otherwise frequently miss routine and preventative medical appointments like dialysis. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic makes transportation even more difficult for these vulnerable communities: those with underlying conditions are faced with either putting themselves at risk of exposure by chancing public transportation or going without their necessary medical care.
Plybeah plans to expand MedHaul’s services to serve even more communities in the future. In the meantime, it is clear that MedHaul is critical in providing underserved communities with accessible, affordable transportation to routine and lifesaving care.
