SafeRide Health may have a nationwide network of transportation providers, but we wouldn’t be able to deliver millions of rides a year for new clients if each team stayed in its own lane. Cross-functional collaboration is essential to ensure that our new and existing health plan members, located all over the United States, make it to the care they need.
Facilitating transportation is complicated: You need to ensure your network and support staff is sufficiently built out and dependable, that drivers are trained to treat people with respect, that you’re operating efficiently and cost-effectively, and that you can measure your success (or challenges) with real-time metrics. When your passengers are patients who are managing a wide range of medical concerns and appointments? It’s even more important—and complicated.
SafeRide has set a new standard for mission-driven collaboration, and our workforce and non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) ride volume have grown significantly in the past few years. In 2021, SafeRide provided 1 million rides. In 2025, SafeRide will provide more than 9 million rides across the nation, restoring access to life-sustaining care. At the same time, we’ve won multiple awards for our workplace culture of empowerment and caring.
“I see our mission and values embodied in our culture—in the day-to-day experience of working at SafeRide; it doesn’t feel like a normal 9-5 corporate job,” said Cathryn Luebbert, Training and Development Partner in People Operations. “It really feels like we’re all on the same team, and the compassion that our employees have isn’t just for the members, it’s for everybody at SafeRide.”
Ready to Launch (New NEMT Programs)
When SafeRide launches transportation services for a new or existing client, we conduct a thorough analysis of our network and call center capacity and compare that to historic and predicted ride volume. We consult our product team to determine if the plan’s solution will require new features. We assign an implementation and account manager to help map the member journey and ensure implementation, launch, and ongoing services go smoothly for all stakeholders (including vendor change management support for health plan members). That means setting clear communication and reporting expectations. At SafeRide, an implementation team is a microcosm of the whole company.
Some implementations involve launching NEMT services across multiple states and for different plan populations; in those cases, we conduct a broader assessment of network and operational needs. In January, for example, SafeRide partnered with a health plan to launch service for more than 875,000 members in 33 states. At the same time, we were monitoring the impacts of fires in Los Angeles, freezing weather in Texas, and “generational snow” events across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.
“Every single department has a hand to play in implementations,” said Carolyn Bergin, Senior Director of Account Management. “We take time to build trust and strong relationships and help guide our clients with a steady hand when it comes to how their transportation benefit should work—what we’ve seen work in the past and what we’ve seen that didn’t work. I think clients appreciate the collaboration, instead of saying it's our way or no way. Being confident in our materials, our workflows, and what we’re talking about really sets us apart.”
During this recent multi-state launch, SafeRide reported key metrics to the health plan every day for the first month, tracking data such as fulfillment rates, on-time performance, member experience statistics, and call center service levels. While the health plan met with various members of the SafeRide team daily at first, “they were so confident with our stats and our strong performance that they felt comfortable moving those meetings from daily to weekly for the last two weeks,” Bergin said.
All along the way, SafeRide teams were communicating and tracking those metrics as well. “There’s not just trust with the client,” she said, “we’ve also built trust internally to know that everyone’s working toward the same goals and understands that it’s important for the business.”
Working Together Toward a Common Goal
At SafeRide, we recognize that collaboration starts at the top and continues all the way down—and across—our workforce chain. Everyone from our customer service representatives to senior leaders work together to fulfill our mission of ensuring access to healthcare for everyone.
Much of the company’s growth can be attributed to that teamwork and professionalism, said Andy Auerbach, SafeRide Chief Commercial Officer.
“We’ve had so many distinct phases of growth, and each phase has had its unique challenges,” he said. “Every one of them has been tough and every one has been different, but because of our excellent team and collaboration, we’ve been able to conquer each phase and all of its challenges.”
Reach out!
If you’re interested in exploring a career at SafeRide Health, head to the Careers Page to find out more about our values, perks, benefits, and current openings.