Marshall County Veteran Affairs offers rides to out-of-area medical appointments for Marshall County Veterans. There are currently 57 local veterans registered to use our service. The VA provides a nice van to transport our veterans.

We need volunteer drivers to support this program. You’ll enjoy hearing our veteran’s stories.

Requirements:

• Ability to be on call 3-5 days per month.
• Valid Iowa Driver’s license and insurance. CDL is not required for volunteers.
• It is nice to be able to contact drivers via cell phone messaging, but not required.

Annually:

• Must be willing to be vaccinated for Flu / influenza annually.
• Provide updated vehicle insurance documentation
• Take a VA Occupational Health exam
• Take “paper” VA tests, defensive driving, etc.
• As needed – renew the volunteer badge prior to expiration.

To Start Up:

• Contact Shari at va@marshallcountyia.gov or call 641-844-2895 for more information.
• Work with the VA Hospital to register with their volunteer coordinator.
• Take a VA Occupational Health exam.
• Background check, fingerprinting for final approval as volunteer.

How the program works:

• Veterans register for their rides at least 48 hours in advance. We ask them to make appointments between 9 am and 11 am so all the veterans on that day ride together.
• A monthly calendar for the driver schedules is distributed prior to the beginning of the month.
• Drivers can pick the days they want to be on call, i.e., not on Wednesday, or drive only on Tuesday/Thursday, and if you want the days sequential on the calendar, or not.
• The day before the appointment the drivers are notified of the pickup time and the veterans are called with pickup time, usually 75 minutes ahead of an appointment in Des Moines, or 2 hours ahead if going to Iowa City.
• Monday and Fridays – reserved for Iowa City or not in Des Moines.
• Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday – Des Moines run.