With funds provided through CareerSource NEFL’s Customized Training Program, drivers who provide transportation services to the aged and disabled throughout Baker County are now able to provide a higher level of care to the vulnerable participants they transport.
That includes residents at the Clair Winston House, an assisted living facility in Baker County that also provides adult day care programs – along with other older and disabled residents who now rely on the Clair Winston Transportation Company throughout the county.
Located in downtown Macclenny, Clair Winston House was founded by current CEO Stephanie Howell nearly 15 years ago to serve individuals with developmental, physical, and aging-related disabilities, as well as memory issues such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Howell says the facility is the only provider of its kind in Baker County, with the capacity to serve up to 25 participants. This includes providing assisted living services, along with providing a popular day program to offer a safe, caring environment for its participants. The day program includes activities, meals…and transportation.
“When I set out into the business and entrepreneurial world, I never intended to have anything to do with a transportation company,” Howell said. “And when I founded Clair Winston House, we would just use the outside transportation services for our participants through their insurance coverage when they had appointments or places that they had to go.”
But two years ago, Howell had enough safety and reliability concerns with external transportation providers that she knew a change had to be made.
“We had incidents where our residents were being abandoned at appointments, left in unsafe areas and were injured while riding,” she said.
The incidents culminated with a severe incident involving an EMT driver who crashed into the office at Clair Winston House, and then attempted to continue that resident’s trip.
In 2024, Howell founded a separate entity: the Clair Winston Transportation Company.
“We just decided we couldn’t let people be subjected to that anymore, because they’re the most frail and vulnerable people in our community and we had to look out for their wellbeing and safety,” she said. “It was necessary, and that way we also ensured a set-team of drivers were helping our participants get to and from their destinations safely.”
Howell says the service is considered a non-emergency medical transportation company, allowed to transport individuals, primarily those with disabilities.
“It also gave us the ability to serve the community in a greater capacity, because we also provide transportation now for residents in Baker and surrounding counties,” she added.
This past summer, thanks to the CareerSource NEFL Customized Training (CT) Program, the company’s 13 drivers received ‘driver-to-caregiver’ training to become better qualified in handling clients with disabilities. Through CT funds from the agency, the eight-week training was completed by an outside contractor in July.
“I was introduced to CareerSource Northeast Florida through my husband, who learned about them and the possible training opportunity through his business coaching network,” she said. “I initially had other expectations, but that connection led to this great opportunity to train the drivers and improve our customer service delivery, which was not something I was expecting.”
Howell says she was pleased at how easy it was to work with the organization.
“The people who helped us throughout the process were available to answer my questions and explain things,” she said. “They helped us come up with an effective training program.”
The training emphasized interpersonal skills and practical protocols in transporting residents, walking clients into facilities, ensuring proper check-in, communicating with staff and avoiding curbside drop-offs to reduce on-road issues.
“The driver-to-caregiver program was really brilliant, because it really cross-trained our drivers to become caregivers when they are with passengers,” she said. “It’s benefiting more than just our assisted living residents and adult day participants, but all the recipients of the service county wide. They now have a more qualified person behind the wheel who can provide a higher level of interpersonal service.”
Howell adds that the training wouldn’t have been possible without CareerSource NEFL.
“These improvements wouldn’t have happened without their help,” she said. “We don’t have any excess funds to pay for something like this at this point in time, even though we did have the need. After the training was over, you could see the positive impact it had on our drivers and on our overall delivery of transportation services.”