Good Wheels seeks additional funding, community donations

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Aisha Isaac relies on Good Wheels to transport her son to and from medical daycare at Health Park Hospital, but the non-profit organization says it needs more money to continue its service.

Good Wheels currently makes about 7,500 trips monthly taking disadvantaged and disabled patients to appointments. Isaac said without Good Wheels’ assistance with her son, it would be very difficult to get her son to Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care.

“I really appreciate Good Wheels. If it wasn’t for them I would be struggling every day to get him to and from school because I live in Cape Coral and PPEC is out here at Health Park,” she said.

Additional funding will not be issued to Good Wheels until July, CEO Alan Mandel said. The organization works with the state and county to transport patients. But demand is so great, Good Wheels is in need of more funding immediately, Mandel said.

“We think there are probably 4,000 people on the waiting list. The MPO (metropolitan Planning Organization) has calculated the need in Lee County as 18,000 who need transportation,” Mandel said.

State Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen has pushed for a bill that will provide Good Wheels with an additional $132,000 for 2015. But Mandel has said Fitzenhagen’s efforts won’t cover costs. It’s not too late to ask for more funds, she said.

“If we can demonstrate that Good Wheels is delivering on a very limited budget with a low overhead, I’m going to go back to bat for them and see if we can additional funding,” she said.

To receive funding from the state, Good Wheels will be required to match the aid by 10 percent, which is $20,000 in donations.

The continuation of Good Wheels services would mean children, like Isaac’s son, would continue to receive care and maintain relationships with the organization’s employees.

“He loves the drivers on Good Wheels,” Isaac said.

For more information visit http://www.goodwheels.org/index.html.