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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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Last updated: March 2026
Safe, reliable non-emergency medical transportation to one of the nation's top-ranked hospitals. Ambulatory, wheelchair, and stretcher service with trained, compassionate drivers.
Located at 251 E Huron Street in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the flagship hospital of Northwestern Medicine and one of the highest-ranked medical centers in the United States. The campus includes the Prentice Women's Hospital, the Lurie Children's Hospital next door, and specialized outpatient clinics across the Northwestern Medicine network.
Patients travel to Northwestern Memorial for nationally ranked cardiology, oncology, neurology, and orthopedic programs. Whether you have a routine specialist visit, a chemotherapy infusion, a pre-surgical consultation, or a same-day discharge, Dream Care Rides provides the medical transportation you need to get there safely and on time.
Every patient has different needs. We provide the right vehicle and level of care for your trip to Northwestern.
Sedan or SUV with a trained driver for patients who can walk. Curb-to-Curb, Door-to-Door, or Hand-to-Hand service levels available.
Wheelchair-accessible vehicles with hydraulic lifts. Safe loading, four-point securement, and driver assistance throughout.
For patients who cannot sit upright. Stretcher vans with EMT-trained attendants for safe, comfortable medical transport.
Coordinate your hospital discharge ride in advance. We arrive on time so you are not waiting in the lobby after your procedure.
We serve the entire Chicagoland area. These neighborhoods are closest to Northwestern Memorial and represent our most frequent pickup locations for this hospital.
Gold Coast
River North
Lincoln Park
Old Town
Streeterville
Lakeview
Your driver calls you 30 minutes before the scheduled pickup with an estimated arrival time. When the driver arrives at your home, they come to your front door and assist you to the vehicle. For wheelchair patients, the driver deploys the hydraulic lift or ramp, secures your chair with Q'Straint four-point straps, and confirms you are comfortable before departing.
At Northwestern Memorial, the driver pulls into the Huron Street patient drop-off circle for ambulatory and wheelchair patients. The driver assists you out of the vehicle and walks you to the main lobby entrance. For patients who need help navigating the campus, the driver escorts you to the information desk or the elevator bank for your specific department floor. The entire process from vehicle to reception desk is covered under our door-through-door service standard.
For stretcher patients, the driver uses the Erie Street accessible entrance, which provides ground-level loading access. The two-person crew wheels the stretcher into the hospital and coordinates with nursing staff for a safe patient handoff. For wheelchair patients needing elevator access, the Erie Street entrance also provides direct elevator service to inpatient floors.
For return trips, the driver or a teammate arrives at the hospital lobby at the scheduled time. If your appointment runs late, call our dispatch team and we adjust the pickup window at no additional charge for the first 60 minutes.
Dream Care Rides patients most frequently travel to Northwestern Memorial for appointments in the following programs and departments. Our drivers are familiar with the locations and check-in procedures for each, which reduces stress and navigation time for patients visiting these departments.
Heart failure management, cardiac rehab, and interventional cardiology follow-ups.
Chemotherapy infusions, radiation oncology, and cancer treatment follow-up visits.
Stroke recovery, epilepsy management, and neurodegenerative disease appointments.
Joint replacement follow-ups, physical therapy referrals, and sports medicine.
Obstetric appointments, gynecological procedures, and high-risk pregnancy monitoring.
Pre-surgical consultations, same-day procedures, and post-operative follow-ups.
Private pay patients call (708) 505-6994, confirm a price upfront, and get a driver dispatched the same day. No broker authorization, no 48-hour advance notice requirement, no rotating drivers. For hospital discharge trips, private pay is especially valuable because Medicaid-covered transport typically cannot accommodate same-day discharge time changes. If your physician clears you for discharge at 11 AM instead of 3 PM, a private pay ride adjusts in one phone call.
For recurring outpatient visits at Northwestern such as chemotherapy infusions, cardiac rehab, or specialist follow-ups, standing orders make private pay as simple as Medicaid after the initial setup. Your rides run automatically every week on the same schedule with the same driver. The difference is speed of setup, consistency of service, and direct communication with the company that actually dispatches the vehicle.
Dream Care Rides is a licensed, insured non-emergency medical transportation provider headquartered in Olympia Fields, Illinois (NPI #1033989991), serving patients throughout Chicago, Cook County, and the greater Illinois-Indiana metro area. All pricing and operational information on this page reflects our current private pay rates and service standards.
Book online at dreamcarerides.com or call (708) 505-6994. Provide the hospital address at 251 E Huron St, Chicago, IL 60611 as your pickup or drop-off location. Our dispatch team will coordinate the pickup at the Huron Street patient circle for ambulatory and wheelchair patients, or the Erie Street accessible entrance for stretcher patients. For hospital discharges, we recommend calling as soon as your discharge date is confirmed so we can assign a vehicle and coordinate with the discharge team.
Medicaid covers non-emergency medical transportation for eligible members in Illinois. Contact your Medicaid managed care organization (such as Meridian, Molina, or Blue Cross Community Health Plans) to confirm your NEMT benefit. Medicare Advantage plans often include supplemental transportation benefits as well. Dream Care Rides also serves private-pay patients with transparent, upfront pricing and no hidden fees. Private pay patients benefit from same-day booking and no broker authorization requirement.
We recommend scheduling your ride to arrive 15 to 20 minutes before your appointment time. Northwestern Memorial is a large campus with multiple buildings, and the extra buffer accounts for patient drop-off at the Huron Street circle, security check-in at the lobby, and navigating to your specific department or floor. For first-time visitors, the campus can be disorienting, and our driver can walk you to the information desk if needed.
Yes. We offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles with hydraulic lifts and Q'Straint four-point securement systems for transport to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Our drivers are trained in safe wheelchair loading, securement, and patient transfer. Stretcher transportation is also available for patients who cannot sit upright. We serve patients with standard wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, tilt-in-space models, and bariatric wheelchairs up to 400 pounds.
Call (708) 505-6994 and request stretcher transportation. You will need to provide the patient name, hospital room number, expected discharge or pickup time, and a Physician Certification Statement if using insurance. Our stretcher vehicles are equipped with Broda Traversa stretcher systems and a two-person crew. The crew coordinates with Northwestern nursing staff for safe patient transfer from the hospital bed to the stretcher. The Erie Street entrance provides ground-level loading for stretcher patients.
Yes. Hospital-to-facility transfers are one of our most common trip types at Northwestern Memorial. We transport patients from Northwestern to skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, long-term care homes, and assisted living communities throughout Chicago and the suburbs. Our drivers coordinate with staff at both Northwestern and the receiving facility to ensure a seamless handoff. We accommodate ambulatory, wheelchair, and stretcher patients for facility transfers.
We serve the entire Chicagoland area for trips to Northwestern Memorial. The most common pickup neighborhoods include Gold Coast, River North, Lincoln Park, Old Town, Streeterville, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Uptown, and the broader North Side. We also provide frequent pickups from suburban locations including Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, and the South Suburbs. No pickup location is too far for a scheduled medical appointment.
For private pay patients, we can often accommodate same-day or next-day requests. We recommend booking 24 to 48 hours ahead for your preferred pickup time and vehicle type. For Medicaid-covered rides, your managed care organization typically requires 48 to 72 hours advance notice through the transportation broker. For recurring appointments such as chemotherapy infusions or specialist follow-ups, we set up standing orders so no further booking is needed.
Schedule online in minutes or call us 24/7. Ambulatory, wheelchair, and stretcher transportation available for all Northwestern Medicine locations.