Company cars save money and worry
Agency opts to forgo mileage reimbursement
Providers with high annual auto mileage or field staff reliability problems may consider one agency's answer to those issues. Cleveland, TN-based Bradley Memorial Hospital Home Health and Hospice owns a fleet of 50 cars that field staff use almost exclusively instead of their own vehicles.
The program saves about $.01 per mile, gives the agency a very visible community presence, and has virtually eliminated staff transportation-related cancellations, says Carolyn Marr, RN, BSN, CNA, agency director.
Bradley started the program with two cars in 1985 in response to staff reliability problems caused by poorly running vehicles and community complaints about the appearance of staff vehicles, says Susan Griffith, RN, BS, assistant director.
The agency obtained sealed lease bids from local car dealerships and analyzed their cost against the Internal Revenue Service-approved mileage reimbursement figure, she explains. Over time, as the program proved its popularity and financial benefit, Bradley purchased vehicles as their leases expired.
Bradley analyzes the cost of vehicle lease and buyout; gasoline; insurance, including a high deductible; routine maintenance; and a factor for accidents and major repairs. Lease specifications include a minimum miles per gallon requirement, full-size spare tires, air-conditioning, radio, cigarette lighters for adapter use, and automatic transmissions, Marr explains. The fleet consists mainly of Ford Escorts and Honda Civics.
Staff cars cover 800,000+ miles
With a mostly rural five-county service area, Bradley provides about 77,000 visits but logs more than 800,000 miles annually. Most of its 30 home health aides and 20 nurses use the company vehicles.
Staff drive assigned cars and must bring them for routine maintenance and car washes. Bradley has contracts with several local mechanics and a car wash. Staff drop off the vehicles and sign a voucher acknowledging the completed work. Staff who are without regularly assigned cars or who have out-of-commission cars use "floater" vehicles.
Bradley insures the vehicles but checks staff driving records upon hire, every subsequent three years, and at random in between. The agency conducts license checks for tickets, moving violations, and accidents. Staff with poor records are ineligible for the program.
While the financial savings justify the program, improved service reliability is the real premium. With Bradley's wide service area, finding substitutes for staff with broken down or unreliable vehicles can be a logistical impossibility. The agency cars virtually eliminate the issue. And the running billboards, clean from their regular car washes, present a positive community image, Marr notes.
An unexpected benefit is that the community reports any unsafe driving. "We wouldn't get those calls if they weren't driving company vehicles, but we want everyone to be safe," says Marr.
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