DAV van to Iron Mountain

BY TAMMY WALTERS
Oneida County Veteran’s Service Officer

The Oneida County Veterans Service Office voluntarily coordinates a DAV van, which takes veterans who live in any county to and from the VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, Mich., free of charge.

The van is driven by all volunteer drivers and runs Monday through Thursday each week. It originates in Rhinelander every day and travels the “northern route” (via Lake Tomahawk, Woodruff, Arbor Vitae, St. Germain and Eagle River) on Monday and Tuesday and the “eastern route” (via Monico, Crandon, Laona, Cavour and Armstrong Creek) Wednesday and Thursday.

Reservations must be made by 4:00 p.m. the Thursday before the week you want to ride. After Thursday, no reservations will be made for the following week. We recommend, however, you make your reservation as soon as you have your appointment because finding a driver on short notice isn’t always possible.

The van leaves Rhinelander no earlier than 6:30 a.m. and it leaves Iron Mountain to return home no later than 3:00 p.m. each day so medical appointments should be made accordingly. The departure time and return time depend on the appointment time of the rider or riders.

Care providers are authorized to accompany veterans as long as they have a note from the veteran’s VA doctor, which must be on file with our office. For insurance and liability purposes, all veterans must have a scheduled appointment and all care providers must have written authorization to ride.

No oxygen tanks are allowed on the van. Additionally, wheelchairs and walkers are only allowed if they can be folded up and stored in the back of the van. All riders must be able to get themselves in and out of the van without the assistance of the drivers.

If you would like to reserve a seat on the DAV van or if you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.

Tammy Walters can be reached at (715) 369-6127 or twalters@co.oneida.wi.us. Jason Dailey, Assistant CVSO, can be reached at the same number or jdailey@co.oneida.wi.us. You can also contact us via Facebook at www.facebook.com/oneidacvso.