Hope Air announces new funding agreement with the province of Newfoundland & Labrador to assist patient travel for medical care.
Hope Air announced today a new funding agreement with the Ministry of Health and Community Services, to support medical travel for patients living in rural, remote and smaller communities. With new funding of $150,000, Hope Air will provide medical travel programs for more residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. This contribution supports Hope Air’s ongoing efforts to serve patients in need through free airline travel, hotel, ground transportation and meals programs and helps them to address growing demand in the Province.
With this new funding from the province, Hope Air will facilitate approximately 1,200 medical travel arrangements in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023. This includes providing airline travel and hotel accommodation nights for families, individuals and children accessing medical care unavailable in their home communities.
“Supporting the medical travel needs of patients in Newfoundland and Labrador, has been an important part of Hope Air’s mission since our inception in 1986”, said Mark Rubinstein, Chief Hope Officer. “Eliminating significant financial expenses associated with medical travel for those living in rural and remote communities is critical to achieving equitable and timely access to health care. This funding will strengthen our programs and services, supporting patients required to travel longer distances, and will deliver better health outcomes for all.”
“Our government is happy to support funding for medical travel for patients living in rural, remote and smaller communities. Reducing financial expenses for medical travel aligns with recommendations from Health Accord NL and furthers our commitment to improving the health of residents across the Province,” Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services.
About Hope Air
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- Hope Air is Canada’s only national charity providing free medical travel through airline, accommodations, meals and ground transportation services, for Canadians in financial need, who must access health care far from home. Since its inception in 1986, Hope Air has provided more than 170,000 travel arrangements for patients, regardless of age or medical condition. For people living in small and rural communities, distance and cost are very real barriers to accessing timely and equitable medical care. Hope Air is a unique and essential part of our Canadian healthcare system. For more information, visit hopeair.ca
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- Hope Air operates in all provinces and provides a comprehensive set of medical travel services including airline, hotel, ground transportation and meal subsidy programs. Airline transportation is coordinated through partnerships with commercial airlines and through Hope Air’s volunteer pilot program. Hotel accommodation and Hope Meals programs are delivered through Hope Air partner hotels near Hospitals and medical care. Hope Rides is a ground transportation service delivered through Uber providing free car transportation from airport to hospital and accommodation. Full details on Hope Air programs and eligibility can be found online at Hope Air Patient Travel Information
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- Hope Air has operated in the province of Newfoundland & Labrador since inception and during this time has provided over 13,000 travel arrangements. Hope Air supports medical travel for all health conditions including Cancer, Heart Disease, Nervous System Disorders, Organ Transplant, Stroke, Diabetes and Mental Health conditions, among many others.
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- 35% of all travel arrangements facilitated by Hope Air, are for patients who are children and their parents.
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- On average, 44% of patients who travel with Hope Air for medical treatment would cancel or postpone their hospital appointment without our program.
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- Hope Air programs also provide free travel support for escorts accompanying patients for medical treatment.
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- Hope Air provides patient travel for people living in numerous communities throughout Newfoundland & Labrador including Gander, Corner Brook, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Saint Anthony, Deer Lake, among others.
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- Patients seeking Hope Air travel support can apply online at www.hopeair.ca or by phone at 1.877.346.4673