Some Medicaid patients have a solution to transportation problems after a KFOX14 story. 

Two weeks ago, Briana Fuentes' parents came to KFOX14. They were worried their daughter would not be able to continue therapy at Omega Rehab Services after the clinic was forced to stop free transportation for patients. 

Medicaid recently cracked down on health care providers and said the clinic could not transport Medicaid patients free of charge. 

Fuentes' parents don't own a vehicle, and her mother cannot drive due to epilepsy. Omega Rehab is almost a mile from the nearest bus stop. 

For two months, Briana was unable to get to her appointments. 

But after KFOX14 aired the story, Daniel Fuentes got a call that will change all of that. His daughter received a transportation sponsor. 

"So Briana, of course, was excited. 'I get to go back to Omega. I get to see all my friends at therapy.' She was like 'yay'. She was happy," said Briana's mom, Atara Black. 

Dr. Joseph Olowe said the clinic saw a drastic decrease in patient attendance but is now starting to see a resolution. 

"There are so many charity organizations in the community that have stepped up that are willing to help," said Olowe. 

Young Marines, Shriners, and Lulac are just some of the organizations that have started sponsoring transportation for patients. 


Olowe said now, they're working with clients to comply with Medicaid laws -- requiring parents to accompany children under the age of 15. He said he agrees with the principle, but some parents say it's a Catch-22. 

"I'll go to work and make money and pay for transportation so that my kid can be here at therapy. I cannot be at work, my kids be at therapy and expect me to pay for transportation," said Olowe. 

"When all these issues are discovered by the government, I believe they will come up with a solution that will help everybody," said Olowe. 

Briana's parents said they are overwhelmed by the kindness of total strangers. 

"The next day, I was on the Sun Metro bus [and someone] said, 'You were on the news, I saw you last night.' And one of the guys, a high school student -- no, college student, he was 23  he said, 'If I had the $5, I would have paid for your daughter.' I wanted to cry. He told me, 'I would have paid for your daughter for three weeks.' I wanted to cry," said Black.