DuBOIS — Penn Highlands Healthcare expressed its appreciation to its employees and the community for helping to make its Annual Giving Campaign a success, raising $111,000.

As announced at the beginning of the campaign, the funds will be used to help alleviate transportation as a barrier to healthcare in rural communities in the region. In the United States, approximately 3.6 million people do not obtain medical care due to transportation barriers; 4% of children miss a healthcare appointment each year due to unavailable transportation; and transportation is the third most commonly cited barrier to accessing healthcare services for the elderly.

“For vulnerable populations, transportation can be unaffordable. Lack of transportation options can leave a patient in the hospital beyond a normal discharge time,” explained Lindsey Herzing, manager of Donor Relations for Penn Highlands Healthcare. “If family or friends are unavailable, the coordination of a ride back to a skilled nursing facility can take hours or even days.”

Herzing explained that patients are often brought in for emergency care by EMS, but have no means of transportation back home. Until a ride is coordinated, patients will wait long periods of time in the hospital, taking up a bed and delaying the admissions of other patients to the floor. Lack of transportation can cause patients to miss appointments, delay filling prescriptions or not seek emergency care, potentially leading to worsening health conditions.