Somerville is one of the hardest cities in Massachusetts to arrange wheelchair transportation in, and the reasons have nothing to do with distance. It is the housing stock and the streets. A second-floor unit in a Winter Hill triple-decker with a narrow interior staircase, a permit-parking block in Ball Square where a lift van cannot idle at the door, a Davis Square building with four granite steps and no railing. The ride itself is twenty minutes. Everything around it is the problem.

This page covers how we handle wheelchair-accessible and non-emergency medical transportation in Somerville, including the stairs and the parking, and what to tell us when you book so the first trip goes smoothly.

1. What We Provide in Somerville

Our vehicles have ramps or hydraulic lifts, floor anchors, and four-point securement straps. The rider stays in their own wheelchair, powered or manual, for the whole trip. No transfer, no folding a chair into a trunk, no family member attempting a lift they were never trained to do.

Typical Somerville trips run to Mass General, Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess, Tufts Medical Center, Mount Auburn, and CHA Cambridge Hospital, plus dialysis and infusion centers, rehab and skilled nursing facilities, Logan Airport, and non-medical destinations like family gatherings and religious services.

Note that the CHA Somerville Campus on Highland Avenue is an outpatient and urgent care site rather than a full emergency department, so many Somerville residents travel to Cambridge or into Boston for hospital-level care. We plan the route and the timing around that reality.

2. Triple-Deckers, Stairs, and Stair Chair Assistance

A large share of Somerville's housing is two- and three-family homes built long before anyone designed for a wheelchair. Front stoops are steep. Interior staircases turn. Landings are tight. This is where most transportation arrangements quietly fail, because the driver arrives, looks at the stairs, and cannot do anything about them.

We bring a stair chair and staff trained to use it, working in pairs on descents, controlling the chair on every step rather than relying on strength. If your parent lives on the second or third floor, say so when you call and tell us roughly how many steps, whether the staircase turns, and whether there is a railing. That determines what equipment and how many people we send.

Our guides on stair chair and mobility assistance in Massachusetts and safely moving someone up and down stairs at home explain what that looks like in practice.

3. Parking and Access on Somerville Streets

Somerville's residential streets were laid out for horses, not for a van with a deployed ramp. A lift needs clearance beside the vehicle, and on a dense block during resident-permit hours that clearance does not always exist.

We handle this by planning ahead rather than discovering it at the curb. If your street is tight, tell us on the first call. Often the answer is a slightly different pickup point a few doors down, an alley or driveway, or a time of day when the block is clearer. It is a five-minute conversation that prevents a twenty-minute problem.

4. Door-Through-Door, Not Curb to Curb

Rideshare drops you at the curb. Standard medical transport often does the same. For someone with limited mobility, the curb is where the trip gets hard.

Our aide meets the rider inside the home, assists down and out, secures the chair, and at the destination walks the rider in to the check-in desk. Coming back, we do not leave until the rider is inside and settled. For hospital campuses in Boston, where the parking garage and the clinic can be a long distance apart, this is the part that actually matters.

5. Standing Rides for Dialysis and Recurring Treatment

Dialysis is three sessions a week, indefinitely, and a missed session is a medical problem rather than a scheduling annoyance. We set these up as standing recurring rides so the same slot holds week to week and the driver knows the entrance, the wait time, and the routine. The same applies to infusion, radiation, and physical therapy. See our overview of dialysis transportation in Massachusetts.

6. After a Procedure, When Someone Has to Sign You Out

Endoscopy centers and surgical suites will not discharge a sedated patient to a rideshare. They require a named responsible adult who waits and signs. For Somerville residents whose family is out of state, or who live alone, this stops the procedure from being scheduled at all.

We provide the escort along with the ride: our staff member checks in, waits, takes the discharge instructions, and gets the patient home. See medical escort services and whether you need a responsible adult after a procedure.

7. Neighborhoods We Cover

All of Somerville, including Davis Square, Porter, Union Square, Ball Square, Teele Square, Winter Hill, East Somerville, Spring Hill, Prospect Hill, and Assembly Row. We also serve the surrounding cities, with dedicated pages for Cambridge, Medford, and Arlington.

8. How to Book

Call 781-957-8076 or email info@careremedyinc.com . Have ready: the appointment date and time, pickup and destination addresses, the mobility equipment the rider uses, the number of stairs at the home and whether the staircase turns, any parking constraints on the street, and whether a companion is riding along.

Two to three days of notice is best. Same-day requests are still worth a call.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you get someone down from a second- or third-floor apartment?

Usually yes, with a stair chair and trained staff. We need to know the number of steps, whether the staircase turns, and the rider's approximate weight so we send the right team and equipment.

Is this an ambulance?

No. This is non-emergency transportation for people who are medically stable. For anything requiring en-route treatment or monitoring, call 911.

What if my street has no place for the van to park?

Tell us when you book. We will agree on a workable pickup point ahead of time rather than circling the block on the day.

Do you take riders into Boston hospitals?

Yes, daily. Mass General, Brigham, Beth Israel Deaconess, Tufts, Dana-Farber, and the Longwood campuses are routine destinations.

Can a family member come along?

Yes, at no additional charge. Mention it when booking so the seat is reserved.

Do you serve power wheelchairs and scooters?

Yes. Give us the equipment type and approximate dimensions when you call so we assign a vehicle with the right ramp capacity.

Do you provide non-medical rides?

Yes. Airport trips, family events, religious services, salon and dentist appointments, and visits to a spouse in a nursing facility are all things we do regularly.

Book a Somerville Ride

If you are not sure whether the stairs at your parent's place are workable, call and describe them. We will tell you honestly what we can and cannot do before you commit to anything.

Care Remedy Inc, 100 TradeCenter, Suite G-700, Woburn, MA 01801. Phone 781-957-8076 .