Golf-carting Stonecresters who want to access medical appointments at The Villages Regional Hospital are being provided transportation via the hospital shuttle.
When the card-access card went up at Paradise Drive on the Historic Side of The Villages in late 2013, it blocked access to Stonecrest residents traveling in golf carts.
“For the people who are golf-cart dependent it is a problem,” said Genie Beaulieu, chair of the Stonecrest Board Committee.
A chief problem has been getting to medical appointments in The Villages, she said.
The hospital is now running a shuttle from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, every 15 minutes from Urgent Care Center on the East Campus across U.S. Hwy 27/441 to the main hospital campus.
Drop off is at the hospital’s front door, with shuttle departing from the hospital every 15 minutes back to the Urgent Care Center.
“I really applaud the hospital for doing it. They didn’t have to. Let’s face it, they didn’t put up the gate,” Beaulieu said.
She said that Stonecresters have not given up on their fight for golf cart access to The Villages.
She has contacted local, state and federal legislators seeking their support.
And she is currently reaching out to the Sumter County Commission.
For now the only other option for golf-cart dependent Stonecresters who don’t have cars is to get to Villages medical appointments by having friends and family drive them over.
“The problem is you are taking away their independence. As we get older we value our independence even more,” Beaulieu said.