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Shuttle service At Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida

Posted by beatitudes @beatitudes, Apr 4, 2023

I am planning my first visit to Mayo Clinic in Florida. I have heard there is a shuttle service. How does this work?

I'm 3 hours away and may stay at a hotel the night before if I can find something affordable. If not I'll have to drive back and forth in the same day. I am concerned about finding the right place to check in at the hospital. I thought using the shuttle might ensure I arrive at the correct place on time. Does one park in a main parking lot and they bring you to the correct building?

I have a break after 11:30 and would like to go to a Catholic Mass. Would the shuttle take me to the church? The only one I could find was the Basicilla of the Immaculate Conception that offers a mass at 12:15. I'm not sure how far that is and my next appointment would be at 2:45. If I had to drive is that enough time to get there and back with traffic?

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beatitudes | @beatitudes | Apr 8, 2023
In reply to @danab "I might mention something else to keep in mind. During my transplant period of time and..." + (show)
@danab

I might mention something else to keep in mind. During my transplant period of time and the fact I lived more than 50 miles away I was able to get reimbursed by my Medical Insurance Company up to 5000.00 for the whole period of time it took for appointments and after care. Mine at the time was Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield. Something to check also. It included hotels and travel. I cant remember if it included food also but Im thinking that was on me. Anyway, I was able to get most of my money back when I stayed up there for the first year. It was only for the first year in my case transplants were only covered for the transplant and first year follow-up. Good Luck I hope all works out and you have smooth sailing thru this period.

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Thank you. I am always interested in learning more about how insurance works to maximize my benefits. I do have Florida Blue Options and Mayo is in network which helps a lot. This appointment will likely put me over my max out of pocket then everything else will be covered at 100% for the rest of the year. This is good because I need another surgery soon for a different issue.

I do still need to find out if Mayo Clinic offers a payment plan. I asked about the cost and they were not able to provide that information. I had a phone appointment with the office but they never called. I suppose I will find out when they call for the appointment confirmation or on the day of just before I see the Dr. It's stressful not knowing how much I will need to pay that day.

My assigned Dr is a transplant Dr but I think I am ok and will not need that level of care. I do need follow up from my hospitalization in November to ensure I do not get to that point. My journey is just beginning. I'm only there for a day, multiple morning tests and meet the Dr late afternoon, but will likely need periodic check ups in the future to monitor the condition. I am very happy the Mayo clinic accepted me. It took about 3 weeks from my request for them to get my medical records and make the decision to see me. My appointment was scheduled 3 weeks from then. I think that's pretty quick to get into a specialist for a nonemergency new patient. I had read it can be a challenge to get accepted. I am very thankful.

As luck would have it I was able to book a reservation at my time share 19 miles away. This helps as it makes the trip less expensive. It has a full kitchen so I can cook and stay within my diet restrictions and save money to pay the bills. I think for this trip I'm all set. Thank you to all who responded to help make my first visit go more smoothly.

REPLY
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Apr 9, 2023
In reply to @beatitudes "Things are coming together. I now know what buildings my appointments are at. Thank you to..." + (show)
@beatitudes

Things are coming together. I now know what buildings my appointments are at. Thank you to all that offered support.

The shuttle is on campus only. You can park in parking garage attached to the Davis Building or the Cannaday Building for $5. Outdoor parking is free and parking lot B is the most centrally located. The shuttle makes it's rounds at the pick up locations every 10 minutes. If you are unable to walk to the shuttle pick up location they have a service that will come to you at your car with a wheel chair.

Valet parking is available at the Davis building and the Mayo Building. Valet Parking is $8. The Valet closes at 6PM at the Davis Building and at 8PM at the Mayo building. After close any keys remaining are turned over to security. Parking garages make me nervous so I will likely use the valet to avoid the "April Showers".

The closest Catholic Church is Our Lady Star of the Sea. The next closest is St Paul's Catholic Church. They offer several mass times to include a daily 5:30 Mass. I will try to attend this one before I drive home.

They do have a priest on call the day I am there. If I wish I may request a visit upon my arrival.

I'm still deciding on lodging. I have a time share that I hope availability will open up to keep my expenses low. If not does anyone have experience with the Holiday in Express or the Hampton Inn? Is it a convenient location? Clean? I have diet restrictions so I need to bring my own food. Is there a microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker in the rooms?

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@beatitudes, I truly appreciate your returning to provide this useful and helpful information for members who may be looking for it in the future.

With respect to your questions about the Holiday Inn Express or the Hampton Inn in Jacksonville, I'm tagging other members who have stayed there like @lauraharris111 @jeanne5009 @edithmiller @windwalker @debbraw @pop55 @bsrice.

You might also find more tips in this discussion:
- Lodging in Jacksonville, FL https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lodging-in-jacksonville-fl

REPLY
meeshodge | @meeshodge | Jun 5 1:10pm
In reply to @beatitudes "Things are coming together. I now know what buildings my appointments are at. Thank you to..." + (show)
@beatitudes

Things are coming together. I now know what buildings my appointments are at. Thank you to all that offered support.

The shuttle is on campus only. You can park in parking garage attached to the Davis Building or the Cannaday Building for $5. Outdoor parking is free and parking lot B is the most centrally located. The shuttle makes it's rounds at the pick up locations every 10 minutes. If you are unable to walk to the shuttle pick up location they have a service that will come to you at your car with a wheel chair.

Valet parking is available at the Davis building and the Mayo Building. Valet Parking is $8. The Valet closes at 6PM at the Davis Building and at 8PM at the Mayo building. After close any keys remaining are turned over to security. Parking garages make me nervous so I will likely use the valet to avoid the "April Showers".

The closest Catholic Church is Our Lady Star of the Sea. The next closest is St Paul's Catholic Church. They offer several mass times to include a daily 5:30 Mass. I will try to attend this one before I drive home.

They do have a priest on call the day I am there. If I wish I may request a visit upon my arrival.

I'm still deciding on lodging. I have a time share that I hope availability will open up to keep my expenses low. If not does anyone have experience with the Holiday in Express or the Hampton Inn? Is it a convenient location? Clean? I have diet restrictions so I need to bring my own food. Is there a microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker in the rooms?

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I have Celiac, so must be 100% gluten free. I did find several places that offer gluten free. I am not sure what your diet restrictions are though,

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