When you call DayLight to book a ride, the first question the dispatcher asks is the service level. Most families hesitate at this question, because the differences between ambulatory, wheelchair, and gurney transport are not obvious until you see them. This guide explains each level and helps you choose the right one.
Ambulatory transportation
Ambulatory is the right fit for riders who can walk, with or without a cane or walker, and who can get in and out of a sedan or low-step van with a little help. Most outpatient clinic visits, specialist follow-ups, and pharmacy runs are ambulatory rides. The driver helps at the door, stores any walker or cane, and drives at a calm pace. Ambulatory is the most affordable of the three service levels.
Ambulatory is not the right fit if the rider has become unsteady since their last trip or if a new medication has affected balance. When in doubt, ask dispatch about stepping up to wheelchair service for one trip.
Wheelchair transportation
Wheelchair service is for riders who stay in a wheelchair the entire ride. The van has a certified ramp, four Q-straint tie-downs that secure the chair to the floor, and a separate lap belt and shoulder harness for the rider. Manual chairs, power chairs, and scooters are all accommodated. A trained attendant secures the chair and walks the rider through the loading process.
Most dialysis riders, most wheelchair users, and most post-discharge patients who cannot walk the distance to a sedan use wheelchair service. It is the most common single-request service level at DayLight.
Gurney or stretcher transportation
Gurney is for riders who need to travel lying flat. That includes patients after major surgery, patients on continuous oxygen, riders with advanced illness, and bariatric patients where a stretcher is safer than a wheelchair. Gurney service uses a locking stretcher, four securement points, two trained attendants, and a van configured for oxygen and positioning needs.
Gurney is the highest-skill and highest-cost service level. It is also the least common - most people who book NEMT do not need it. But when it is needed, nothing else works.
How to choose when you are unsure
Call dispatch and describe the rider’s mobility on the day of the ride, not six months ago. If the rider can stand from a chair without help, ambulatory is usually correct. If the rider uses a wheelchair for the full trip, wheelchair service is correct. If the rider cannot sit up safely for the ride, gurney is correct.
DayLight will never upsell a service level. If a rider can move with a walker, we will not charge for gurney. We match the service to what is needed today.
Key takeaways
- Ambulatory is for riders who can walk with or without a cane or walker.
- Wheelchair is for riders who stay in a chair the full ride - most common service.
- Gurney is for riders who must travel lying flat - two attendants required.
- Call dispatch if unsure. We match service to the rider on the day of the trip.