The Medical Assured Loading Program, recently being implemented on Bowen, needs another explanation as there seems to be quite a bit of confusion.
It is NOT assured loading for medical appointments, no matter how important they may be to you. You will still have to make sure to get into the line up as early as you think necessary for critical medical appointments, as we have all done for years. Perhaps the phrase that B.C. Ferries uses is not descriptive enough and has led to some erroneous assumptions B.C. Ferries has offered this service at all their ferry terminals for a number of years but we have not implemented such a program on Bowen, as it seemed fraught with complications. But with the long ferry refit, the BIM Transportation Committee and Caring Circle decided to look into a way to implement this service on Bowen. Given that our ferry line up is on municipal land, it was up to us to figure out a way to make this work locally. So B.C. Ferries has some criteria and we have added our local criteria to make sure there is no abuse of this service. Here is how it works:
Your physician is the gatekeeper of this program. It is up to him or her to decide if you need a “medical assured loading letter,” with this one underlining principal in mind: your health would be compromised by waiting in a line up in your car for an extended period of time causing you unnessary suffering.
It is NOT for important medical appointments or procedures. It is not for any particular diagnosis or treatment regimen. Just because you’re going through chemo or radiation or have had recent surgery does not automatically make you eligible for assured loading. But if your health is so fragile that sitting in your car in winter wrapped in a blanket, perhaps nauseated and in pain, adds to your suffering, you might be the perfect person for an assured loading letter.
How do you get one?
- Discuss with your doctor why you feel you need assured loading
- If he/she agrees, your doctor has to email B.C. Ferries and ask for an assured loading letter
- Once you get the letter, you take it to either BIM office or Caring Circle (only Mon/Wed/Fri) and we will give you a red card to put in your front and back window with name/dates
- You park in the “medical assured loading” area in front of the General Store where it is cross hatched.
Apparently there have been some angry knocks on car windows when someone has pulled into the lineup in this cross hatched area. Feel free to have a look at the car windows: there should be a red card in both the front and back windows signed by either Caring Circle or BIM with particular dates allowed for parking in this area. But also please be compassionate and caring towards your neighbours - they are clearly feeling very poorly.
B.C. Ferries staff at the terminal generally don’t know the details of this program so please either look at the Caring Circle website (caringcircle.ca), click on the link to “Bowen Health Resource Guide” and then press the link to Transportation at the right hand side of the page or the BIM website and go to the search box at the top of the page and type in “medical assured loading”. Or you can call BIM office or Caring Circle (9100).
