Transportation to Mass Eye and Ear

Valet at Mass Eye and Ear is at the Fruit Street entrance, but cars are returned on Charles Street. If somebody is driving you and expecting to collect you where they dropped you off, they will be on the wrong street. Valet also runs weekdays only, from 5 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, and not on holidays.

The other thing to know before the day: of the two self park lots, the Charles Street lot is wheelchair accessible and the Storrow Drive lot is not.

How do I find the accessible lot?

Go through the lights under the MBTA station and turn hard left. That is the Charles Street lot, and it is the one to use if anyone in the car uses a wheelchair or a walker. The Storrow Drive lot is closer to the highway and is not handicap accessible, which people discover after they have already parked in it.

Both self park lots validate. At the time of writing that runs $9 for up to an hour, $11 for one to two hours, and $14 for two to twenty four hours. Valet is $18, or $15 with a handicap placard.

Does Mass Eye and Ear validate the Mass General Brigham garages?

No. This catches people constantly, because Mass General is right there and the garages look interchangeable. If you park in a Mass General Brigham garage for a Mass Eye and Ear appointment, you pay the full garage rate with no validation.

I am having eye surgery. Can I get myself home?

No. With sedation you cannot drive and you cannot leave alone, and the office needs to release you to a named adult. A hired escort usually counts. Ours is $45 an hour, and the escort goes in, waits, takes the discharge instructions and gets you home.

Wheelchair transportation is $115 each way or $230 round trip within five miles of one of our offices, then $2 a mile. If you can walk to the vehicle you do not need the wheelchair van, you may just need somebody with you.

Why is the valet cutoff a problem?

Because eye procedures run late and valet does not. If your car goes in at 7 in the morning and you are discharged at 4:30, the valet desk is closed. Ask at check in what happens to a car left past the cutoff rather than finding out while you are recovering with one eye covered.

This is the strongest argument for not bringing a car at all. A booked ride does not have an hours of operation problem, and nobody has to navigate Charles Street with a dilated pupil.

What is different about the ride home after eye surgery?

• You cannot see properly, but you can walk. The risk is not mobility, it is tripping on a curb or a threshold you cannot judge. An arm to hold matters more than a ramp.
• Light hurts. Bring sunglasses even in winter, and expect to want the car dark.
• The drops start immediately. If you cannot see to put them in, somebody has to, and an aide can be present while you manage your own medication.
• It usually happens twice. Cataract surgery is one eye at a time, a few weeks apart, so whatever you arrange you will arrange again. We cover that on the cataract surgery escort page.

What about the stairs at home?

Worth thinking about the night before, not after. Front steps you know by heart are a different proposition when depth perception is gone for a day. If somebody cannot safely manage them, two trained staff with a motorized stair chair is $200 a visit.

Is there a cheaper way to get there?

Try these first. Your town's Council on Aging may run medical rides into Boston, though many stop at the city line and most need a week or more of notice. If you are on MassHealth, ask the office for a PT-1 form for a non emergency medical ride. Some Medicare Advantage plans include a set number of medical trips a year, which almost nobody uses because almost nobody knows.

None of those cover a 4:30 discharge or a same day booking, which is when people call us.

What do you need from me to book it?

The appointment time, your address, whether you stay in a wheelchair or transfer to a seat, whether you need an escort to stay in the building, and any steps at home. For a procedure, give us an estimated discharge time and we will hold the slot and move it when it firms up.

Care Remedy serves eastern and central Massachusetts from offices in Woburn, Brockton and Springfield, and Boston hospital runs are routine for us. Call 781-957-8076 .

We are not affiliated with Mass Eye and Ear. Parking rates, valet hours and lot access are set by the hospital and its parking operator and change, so confirm them when you confirm your appointment.