Penn Highlands Healthcare Addresses Emergency Medical Services and Transportation

Penn Highlands Healthcare is committed to assisting with its patients’ transportation needs. Since the health system serves large rural populations throughout Pennsylvania, transportation is often a concern for patients who may experience travel burdens due to longer distances to care, the cost of travel, and fewer public transportation options. Transportation barriers, including limited Emergency Medical Services (EMS), sometimes cause people to forgo the medical care they need.

“At Penn Highlands Healthcare, we have 780 physicians and 500 advanced practice providers who provide our patients high-quality primary and specialty services, but in many cases, they need transportation to be able to access this care,” explained Steven M. Fontaine, CEO of the nine-hospital health system. “We develop and implement strategies, apply for grants, solicit donations and form partnerships with local agencies to improve transportation.”

The Penn Highlands Connect Center oversees a fleet of 24 vehicles and coordinates patient transportation throughout the health system. Penn Highlands Healthcare funds the Connect Center dispatch staff, drivers and operational expenses such as fuel, insurance, repairs and cleaning to provide this service.

One of the areas that the Connect Center coordinates is for patients who are discharged from the hospital but do not have a ride. The Connect Center arranges transportation for these patients, which drives them to their home or destination. This also benefits other patients at Penn Highlands hospitals by opening access to beds that would be otherwise occupied by those waiting for transportation.

The Connect Center also assists with non-emergency patient transport services to residents from Penn Highlands senior living facilities. The residents use transportation services to access primary and specialty care. The transportation service is also used for residents who are brought in for emergency care by EMS but do not have a ride back to their living facility.

Penn Highlands provides transportation for people receiving cancer therapy at the Hahne Cancer Centers and for behavioral health patients who utilize services at multiple locations across Western Pennsylvania. Reliable transportation is important for cancer patients to ensure they receive consistent care, such as chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Behavioral health patients also benefit from keeping needed therapy and medical appointments. Uninterrupted care can impact survival rates and reduce emergency room visits.

In 2022, Clearfield EMS joined Penn Highlands Healthcare. The affiliation between the two entities significantly benefits people in the Northwestern and Central Pennsylvania communities. Patients have continuity of care from their initial 9-1-1 call through hospital discharge. Also, more critical patients receive convenient transfer between Penn Highlands’ inpatient and outpatient facilities and, in some cases, outside of the immediate area. All non-emergency EMS calls are coordinated through the Connect Center.

“From the very beginning, our founders understood something fundamental — healthcare is not just about treating illness — it is about strengthening communities. They envisioned hospitals that would be rooted locally, guided by community voices, and dedicated to meeting the evolving needs of the regions they serve. Although we offer programs to help make our services more accessible for patients, there is still so much more we could do if we had the resources to fund more transportation options,” added Fontaine.

While the health system is committed to helping patients with transportation needs, rural healthcare is at a crossroads, and rural health systems like Penn Highlands need additional funding and support from local, state and federal government to continue to provide services like transportation.