Hospital Discharge Transportation in Atlanta

Discharge day moves fast — we are built for that

Discharge rarely happens on a schedule anyone planned. The attending signs off mid-morning, the bed is needed, and suddenly a family has a few hours to solve transportation for someone who cannot get into a sedan. Same-day availability is the entire value proposition here, and it is what we optimize our DeKalb County dispatch around.

Call us as soon as discharge looks likely, even if the time is not firm. A provisional booking costs you nothing to adjust and puts a vehicle in the plan instead of leaving you calling around while a patient waits in a wheelchair by the elevators.

We work with case managers and discharge planners

Case managers do not need another vendor who has to be educated on every call. Tell us the patient's mobility status, whether they can sit upright, whether oxygen is involved, the discharge destination, and the target time — we will confirm the correct vehicle and a window on that call.

Facility-originated transports are invoiced to the facility when a written account agreement is in place; we never bill a health plan. Heart2Heart bills insurance for medically necessary transports such as dialysis, wound care and emergency-department related trips. Coverage depends on the patient's plan and is never guaranteed, and we do not bill Medicaid. Rides booked and paid for directly on this website are paid by card at booking.

• Tell us mobility status, upright tolerance, oxygen needs, destination, and target time
• We confirm vehicle type and a pickup window on the same call
• Wheelchair van, stretcher van, or BLS ambulance depending on clinical need
• Discharge to home, a skilled nursing facility, rehab, hospice, or assisted living

Choosing the right vehicle for a discharge

Getting this right saves the family money and prevents a failed pickup. If the patient can sit upright safely for the ride, a wheelchair van at $180 base plus $9.60 per mile is correct. If the patient must remain lying flat but is medically stable, a stretcher van at $420 base plus $13.20 per mile is the vehicle. If the patient needs monitoring or the hospital has specified ambulance-level transport, a BLS ambulance at $450 base plus $15 per mile includes a medical escort.

If the patient needs hands-on help transferring between bed and chair, add Lift Assist at $75 for wheelchair trips. Lifting is already included on stretcher transports.

Getting the patient actually settled at home

The riskiest hour after a hospital stay is the first one at home. Door-through-door assistance is standard on every Heart2Heart trip — we come to the room or the discharge entrance, and at the other end we walk the patient all the way inside rather than stopping at the driveway. One companion rides free, so a family member can be there the whole way, and the comfort package keeps the ride tolerable for someone who has just spent days in a hospital bed.

If the discharge orders include a pharmacy stop for new prescriptions, add an Extra Stop — your vehicle's base fare per stop plus the added mileage — and we will build it into the route rather than making the family drive back out that evening.

Coverage in Decatur and select areas of Atlanta

We run discharges from the Emory Decatur Hospital campus, Emory and Grady facilities in the city, and hospitals in Decatur and select areas of Atlanta out to homes and facilities in Decatur, Avondale Estates, Stone Mountain, Tucker, Clarkston, Scottdale, East Atlanta, and throughout DeKalb County. Destinations beyond our primary fifteen-mile zone carry an extended-area fee, charged once on the farther endpoint and disclosed on the quote before payment.