MedSpeeders band together during historic flood to ensure deliveries

In late June of this year, Mankato, MN was hit by extreme rains causing a flood the likes of which the community had not seen in decades. The flooding wreaked havoc on local infrastructure, forcing closures of key roads like Highway 169, Highway 22, Riverfront Drive, and Highway 14. These closures created serious travel complications, especially for MedSpeed’s routes to our healthcare clients.

Despite these challenges, the MedSpeed team in Mankato, led by Operations Supervisor, Thom Wilkins, demonstrated remarkable adaptability. Thom and team coordinated efforts with MedSpeed’s customers to adjust the routes and keep the operations running smoothly.

We have taken the time to get to know our clients, in times of severe weather, equipment failure, or whatever else might be happening.  We understand just how important these movements are and how much they matter to our customers and their patients. During emergencies, MedSpeed maintains constant communication and planning with our customers.

With road access severely limited, LSRs had to navigate longer commutes, sometimes doubling their travel time. Proactive planning was key, with many team members arriving early to ensure on-time service and prioritizing the most critical stops.

Throughout the two weeks of flooding, the MedSpeed team’s dedication shone. With 27 LSRs in the market, each was ready to adjust, to ensure our customers, and their patients received uninterrupted service.

Dave Klein, one of MedSpeed’s LSRs and former fire chief, had proactively started planning alternative routes as soon as he heard about the flood. Chris Burton, one of MedSpeed’s evening MOD (MedSpeed on-demand) LSRs, took the initiative by checking road closures daily via the MNDOT website. This information helped the team stay ahead of changing conditions and maintain an exceptional-time service rate.

“I can’t say enough good things about our LSRs. We genuinely care about the work we do and the people we help. It was a tough time locally, as many friends, family members, and LSRs themselves were dealing with fallout from the flood. Despite personal tribulations, our entire team consistently left their homes early to get to work, to make sure they got their route started and completed in roughly the same time frame as if there was no rain or flooding to deal with. It was quite the impressive display, there is clearly a passion for delivering health and delivering it the right way,” Thom noted about the team.

We would like to thank our Mankato team for their commitment to patient care, even in a historic flood!