Berrien County veterans who get rides to medical appointments at the VA clinic in Battle Creek from the Berrien County Veterans Services Office are now doing so more comfortably.

Veterans Services Director Maureen Adams tells us the office recently acquired a new vehicle. It’s a brand new 2025 Ford Explorer purchased with help from a national organization.

“The vehicle is part of the DAV, Disabled American Veteran Transportation Program,” Adams said. “They have a commitment to assisting veterans through this program, and it is a matching grant.”

Adams says the office was getting ready to start a fundraising campaign to get its half of the vehicle’s cost when an anonymous donor stepped forward and paid for it. Now they’ve gotten it all painted and ready to go.

While the Ford Explorer is smaller than the previous transit van, Adams says the latest trends have meant they don’t need as much space.

“After COVID, the VA started doing community care and realized that that was working for a lot of veterans. So the number of passengers has gone down. So we were able to go to a little bit of a safer vehicle, a smaller vehicle for I-94.”

Adams says the new vehicle is a lot easier to handle on the wind tunnel that is I-94.

The Veterans Services Office makes trips to Battle Creek Mondays through Thursdays, relying on volunteer drivers to get the veterans to the care they need. Adams says anyone who’s interested in becoming a driver can contact the office.