Nonprofit Building Health Seeks Bourbon County's Letter of Support for KDOT Transit Grant

Becky Gray, executive director of Building Health Inc., told the Bourbon County Commission on Oct. 6 that her nonprofit operates general public transportation and nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) in Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties and asked the commission for a letter of support for a Kansas Department of Transportation grant application.

Gray said Building Health provided about 2,300 rides in the county during the reporting period and that roughly 1,600 of those were through KDOT-funded general public transportation. She said the program also provides NEMT — trips to dialysis and cancer treatment — and that Building Health bills insurers for NEMT to generate local match funds required by KDOT. In seven months of tracking, the nonprofit recorded about 22 unmet ride requests per month in Bourbon County.

Gray asked the commission for a signed letter to include with the KDOT application. A commissioner asked about the grant deadline; Gray said the application is not due until mid-November. The commission agreed to review the materials and give Building Health one week to collect signatures so the item could be finalized without returning in person.

Gray described the program's dispatch system and hours: riders in Bourbon County schedule trips via a dispatch phone line, (833) 228-7433, Monday through Friday; service hours are Monday–Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m., and Friday, 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. She said most trips are for medical appointments and for shopping and community needs, and that about 2% of trips in Bourbon County are for work travel. Gray said the nonprofit serves Fort Scott and smaller towns including Redfield, Bronson, Arcadia and Uniontown and can cross state lines for medical trips when necessary.

Commissioners asked for one week to collect signatures and offered to accept the materials via email; no formal vote was required for a letter of support.