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What Counts as an Emergency?
Call 911 if you experience:
We provide NEMT for:
Dream Care Rides is a licensed NEMT provider. We do not provide emergency ambulance or paramedic services.
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Outpatient Procedure Transportation
Your driver takes you in, waits through your arthroscopy or epidural injection, signs you out as your designated escort, and helps you home on crutches or in a brace. Serving orthopedic ASCs and pain clinics across 80+ communities in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.
Not if you received sedation — if your pain clinic used IV sedation for your epidural, facet joint injection, or nerve block, you're under the same 24-hour no-driving rule as any sedation procedure, and the clinic will require an escort at discharge. But even without sedation, most pain clinics still require a driver: the injection itself can cause temporary numbness or weakness in your leg, which makes braking, steering, or reacting to traffic unsafe for the first several hours. Policies differ by clinic, so confirm yours when you schedule — but plan on a ride home either way.
A rideshare driver can't act as a discharge escort, sign you out, or receive your aftercare instructions — which is exactly why Uber and Lyft fail most clinics' policies. Dream Care Rides is the compliant alternative: a trained, background-checked driver who waits during your injection and escorts you home. Call (708) 505-6994 or book online.
Same-day orthopedic procedures like knee arthroscopy, shoulder arthroscopy, carpal tunnel release, trigger finger release, and hardware removal use general or regional anesthesia, and you'll typically leave in a brace, sling, or on crutches. Anesthesia guidelines make a responsible escort a condition of discharge — the center is liable if it releases a sedated, mobility-limited patient alone.
Pain management injections carry a different but equally real risk: even without sedation, an epidural or nerve block can leave a leg temporarily numb or weak. A rideshare driver can't evaluate whether you're safe to be dropped at the curb, can't sign discharge paperwork, and can't receive your aftercare instructions on your behalf — three things a real escort does.
Our drivers are trained for exactly this hand-off. The clinic's recovery staff knows who is picking you up, when, and how to reach them — which is why orthopedic ASCs and pain clinics across Chicagoland are comfortable releasing patients to us.
Online or at (708) 505-6994 — give us your appointment time, the clinic or surgery center's address, and your home address. If you have a series of injections scheduled, ask us to book all of them at once.
We arrive early, drop you at the entrance, and check in with the front desk as your designated ride. The driver stays on site through your injection or procedure and recovery.
When staff clear you, your driver receives your discharge instructions as your escort, helps you to the vehicle with your crutches or brace, and steadies you to your own front door.
Most injection patients and many post-op patients who can walk with assistance ride ambulatory (walk-on): $35 – $65 base plus $2 – $4 per mile. Wheelchair-accessible vans — often preferred by patients on crutches or who are non-weight-bearing after surgery — run $65 – $115 base plus $3 – $6 per mile. Driver wait time during your appointment is $15 – $30 per 15-minute increment. You get an exact quote up front — no meter, no surge.
Medicaid accepted in select service areas — call (708) 505-6994 to check availability, or try the cost calculator.
A no-show escort cancels the injection and the OR slot — and costs your center four figures plus weeks of rescheduling. Partner with Dream Care Rides for appointment-day transport your staff can verify.
Explore Facility PartnershipsNot if you received sedation — pain clinics that use IV sedation for an epidural, facet injection, or nerve block require an escort and no driving for 24 hours, the same as any sedation procedure. Even without sedation, most pain clinics still require a driver, because the injection itself can cause temporary leg numbness or weakness that makes braking or steering unsafe. Policies vary by clinic, so confirm yours when you book — but plan on a ride either way. Dream Care Rides provides an escorted ride that satisfies either policy. Call (708) 505-6994.
No. Knee and shoulder arthroscopy, carpal tunnel release, trigger finger release, and hardware removal are done under general or regional anesthesia, and surgery centers require a responsible adult escort at discharge — a rideshare driver cannot sign you out or receive your post-op instructions. You'll also likely leave in a brace, sling, or on crutches, which most rideshare drivers aren't set up to help with. Dream Care Rides provides a trained driver who acts as your escort and helps you from the OR doors to your own front door. Call (708) 505-6994 to book.
Ambulatory (walk-on) transportation starts at $35 to $65 base plus $2 to $4 per mile — the right level for most injection patients and many post-op patients who can walk with assistance. Wheelchair-accessible vans, often preferred by patients on crutches or who are non-weight-bearing after surgery, run $65 to $115 base plus $3 to $6 per mile. Driver wait time is billed at $15 to $30 per 15-minute increment. Call (708) 505-6994 for an exact upfront quote.
Yes. Injection visits typically run 1 to 1.5 hours door-to-door, and arthroscopic surgery runs closer to 3 to 4 hours with pre-op and recovery included. Our wait-and-return service keeps your driver on site the entire time, so your ride is already there when the clinic clears you — you're not waiting on crutches in a lobby for someone to arrive.
Yes. Your Dream Care Rides driver checks in with the front desk as your designated ride, is present at discharge to receive your written aftercare instructions, and escorts you to your door — which is what surgery center and pain clinic policies require. If your clinic uses a specific escort sign-out form, our driver will complete it. Facilities can verify our credentials at (708) 505-6994.
Yes. We offer door-through-door assistance, not just curb drop-off — your driver steadies you on stairs, carries your crutches or walker, and helps you get settled at home before leaving. If your procedure was on your right leg, remember that you cannot drive until your surgeon clears you, regardless of how minor the sedation was, so plan your return ride the same way you planned the trip there.
Yes. Injection series (commonly three epidurals spaced over four to six weeks) are one of the most common bookings we handle, and we set up standing rides so you get the same driver for each visit whenever possible. Call (708) 505-6994 once and we'll schedule the full series instead of rebooking every time.
Medicaid is accepted in select service areas — for trips starting within 6.5 miles of our Olympia Fields or Palatine bases. Outside that radius, most patients use private pay with upfront pricing, or their clinic arranges and bills the ride through a facility account. Call (708) 505-6994 and we'll confirm your options in one call.
Book ahead — including the full series — and check “ride home” off your pre-op list.