Ford Warriors in Pink and GoRide Health™ Team Up to Offer Complimentary Medical Rides to Breast Cancer Patients

DEARBORN, Mich., July 31, 2019 – When Stephanie M. of Detroit was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time, it’s fair to say that the way she was going to travel around town wasn’t the primary thing on her mind. But post-surgery driving restrictions meant she had to face a fundamental mobility question: How was she going to get to her appointments?

Finding herself without reliable transportation, Stephanie M. was connected with GoRide Health, a non-emergency medical transportation service that took her to and from appointments with the help of a professionally trained driver and specially upfitted Ford Transit vans. To help ease burdens like this, GoRide Health and Ford Warriors in Pink are teaming up to offer complimentary rides to breast cancer patients through the end of the year.

“It was a huge relief for me to have a service like GoRide Health help me travel to and from my appointments,” said Stephanie, a seven-year breast cancer survivor. “It’s not just that I didn’t have to worry about driving myself; GoRide also relieved me from the mental stress of asking friends and family to take off work and drive me to treatment.”

Starting today, GoRide Health and Ford Warriors in Pink will provide unlimited rides to support breast cancer patients like Stephanie in its current service areas in the Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati and Detroit metro areas. The complimentary transportation service will expand to new markets as GoRide Health launches in new cities.

Securing transportation can be especially challenging for breast cancer patients because finding a car is often only half the battle. Treatments such as chemotherapy can leave patients feeling fatigued or dealing with side effects such as neuropathy, which can make it challenging for them to drive. Programs like GoRide can help eliminate mobility barriers and help ensure patients are able to access the health services they need.

“Transportation to treatment may seem like a small thing or ‘a given,’ but unfortunately, for many people it’s not,” said Anika Brown, chief marketing officer, GoRide Health. “Our collaboration with Warriors in Pink gets right to the heart of GoRide Health's purpose: To make healthcare more accessible to those who need it most, and to do so with a service built around empathy and care.

“Through the Warriors in Pink collaboration we'll be able to remove at least one burden from patients and families – and we'll do it with compassion.”

Whether patients need to get to doctor appointments, treatment services or the pharmacy, GoRide Health will help transport them where they need to go with safe and reliable service. As part of this complimentary ride service, patients will also be able to take one other companion, such as a family member or caregiver, with them in the GoRide vans.

All ride costs are covered by Ford Warriors in Pink, which will verify eligible riders through their website and over the phone at 833-546-7433. Information about the program will be shared with patients in need in all eligible markets through hospitals, The Pink Fund, Susan G. Komen, and Ford dealerships.

Ford Warriors in Pink is dedicated to helping those touched by breast cancer, through actions that support, inspire and empower patients, survivors and co-survivors throughout their journey. Over the last 25 years, Ford has contributed more than $137 million to the cause through Warriors in Pink.

“Lack of transportation is one of the biggest challenges that breast cancer patients face, and as an automotive manufacturing company we are excited to help patients break through this obstacle,” said Jim Peters, spokesperson for Ford Warriors in Pink. “Our goal is to make sure patients never miss critical appointments due to unreliable transportation, and we’re committed to doing our share to ensure our warriors have the access they need for great care.”

In operation since 2017, GoRide Health uses professionally trained drivers to transport patients to and from medical appointments, achieving short wait times for patients and a 98 percent YTD on-time rate. In addition to curb-to-curb service, GoRide drivers are trained to offer room-to-room service for patients that need additional care.

For more information about Ford Warriors in Pink or how the complimentary ride program works, click to visit the website or call 833-546-7433 to reach the GoRide Health call center.