DVC Medical Necessity Requests

[Nanajo1]

I learned a lesson this past trip. If you book through Member Services and request a first floor room for medical necessity you can be bumped by a request made through special services. OKW did not have my first floor/elevator GV available for me. I booked my room eleven months ahead stating I used an ECV and needed first floor access. I have done this for 6 years and never had a problem before.Apparently special services got a request for a accessible GV and they trump MS. I will address my situation with MS but wanted to let folks know. The remedy is a long story I'll post later.

 

[BCV23]

I'm sorry to hear of your trouble. What did you do with your ECV? Can you manage stairs?

When we've booked an accessible DVC room for our daughter who uses a powerchair, MS has put me on hold while they talk with Special Needs. From what I understand, the room is actually assigned at that point and no one but that dept. can change it. So hopefully this was a one time misfortune for you.

 

[dclfun]

How awful! I can't imagine any other type of resort accomodations that would be comparable to a GV so I'm anxious to hear what happened in the end. I too have been put on hold while the MS CM contacts their special services dept. to block the room I need. Am I correct that someone outside of DVC ( the CRO special services dept? ) took the room you had requested? If so it's surprising that a GV wasn't booked by a member since they're so hard to get or that another dept. would "unblock" a room already reserved for a medical request.---Kathy

 

[Nanajo1]

At first the only option offered was to move me and half my Magical Gathering to SSR for 3 days then move us back when a GV became available. They could/would not move my entire party to SSR. I finally asked if there were any first floor 2 BR available at OKW. There were, so we took them for three days then moved to the GV. The logistics of moving three families and all the food we had purchased for two weeks was interesting. We got to know most Bell Services CMs quite well.
They never told me if it was a DVC or CRO guest. I was never told by MS that special needs should be involved in my ressie. Obviously I will involved them the next time.
I wish I could say I took the news ( no GV)like a trooper but much to my embarrassment I slowly had tears rolling down my face. I had worked for so long on this special trip and thought I had done everything I could to ensure a smooth trip that I was overwelmed. I will say we did have a great time and I didn't let it ruin the trip but I was disappointed.

 

[SueM in MN]

I learned a lesson this past trip. If you book through Member Services and request a first floor room for medical necessity you can be bumped by a request made through special services. OKW did not have my first floor/elevator GV available for me.

To clarify, Member Services handles special requests for DVC members or others staying on point. Special Reservations handles those requests for cash reservations thru CRO.
I think that the extenuating factor here is that it is a Grand Villa you were talking about. There are only 2 accessible GV at OKW from what I know.

If you request anything from Member Services as first floor for medical necessity, those requests are filled first when they block the rooms. That's not usually a problem since there are quite a few rooms that meet the request. So, the medical requests are not guaranteed, but they are usually not a problem.
You can also book a guaranteed handicapped/wheelchair accessible villa. Those are blocked by MS at the time that you make the reservation for an accessible villa. From what I understand, Special Reservations doesn't have anything to do with those - Member Services does call them to make sure that Special Reservations has not blocked any, and then MS blocks it for you.

Because there are only 2 villas that meet a request for Grand Villa accessible from first floor or in an elevator building, you only have 2 "chances to get one. If someone (either thru Member Services or CRO) booked it as a guaranteed wheelchair/handicapped accessible room, their confirmed room will take precedence over your request.

We have a guaranteed GV at OKW confirmed for March 2006 with points. When my DH called, he told them we had a wheelchair and needed a first floor room. The CM asked if we needed fully wheelchair accessible and DH said no. The CM said she would put it as a medical request and the confirmation was sent with it listed as a medical request.
When I saw that (knowing there are only 2 GVs that you don't have to climb stairs to get to), I called back and explained to the CM that we would not be able to stay at the resort if we were not on first floor or one of the elevator buildings. She called Specail Services to make sure they did not already have the accessible GVs blocked for someone else. They didn't, so she blocked one for us. The new confirmation sheet we received says "Confirmed wheelchair accessable GV."

So, we should be all set, but if I had not known that GVs are a rare commodity, we might have arrived to find there was none for us. They should do some training of the CMs regarding this because it's not something most people would know.

 

[Nanajo1]

I did book eleven months out, day by day. I just wished they had let me know before I arrived that there was a problem. But the front desk didn't know until I got there that it was not ECV accessible.
My main concern is on other boards there have been discussions about requests for certain rooms and/or views being just that REQUESTS not guarantees, but the general implications in those discussions were that requests for medical reasons were guaranteed. I learned this is not so.

 

[BCV23]

Nanajo, I think I would have cried too. A GV is such a special booking I can only imagine how disappointed you must have been. Glad to hear you didn't let it put a damper on your vacation.

Sue, my understanding is that it IS Special Services that blocks rooms when you need an accessible room. In fact, for our last few stays with our daughter, the process has been identical. Whether I call MS or DRC, I'm put on hold while the CM talks to Special Needs. It used to be I was transferred to that dept. if I called DRC but not anymore.

But in Nanajo's case it sounds as if Special Needs wasn't involved at all since she didn't have an ECV when she made the reservation.

Did you enjoy the GV when you finally got into it, Nanajo?

 

[Pamlur]

But she DID have an ECV when she made the reservation.

I'm so sorry that happened; somebody needs to get their act together a lot better.

 

[BCV23]

But she DID have an ECV when she made the reservation.

I'm so sorry that happened; somebody needs to get their act together a lot better.

Oh my, you're right. I read it too fast this am!

Even a worse situation than I thought. Just a shame. But Nanajo, you are a trooper!

 

[Nanajo1]

But in Nanajo's case it sounds as if Special Needs wasn't involved at all since she didn't have an ECV when she made the reservation.

I have always had an ECV and tell MS when I book that I need first floor because I use an ECV. I now believe that MS should have called special needs or transferred me to them.

Did you enjoy the GV when you finally got into it, Nanajo?

We did enjoy it. We fit all 19 of us for our traditional "Big Breakfast" followed by a late day Thanksgiving Dinner. It was great to have a meeting place big enough for all of us. The first floor porch worked out well for the children. They loved to go out there and play together.

 

[dclfun]

I've also been in tears several times over room situations at WDW. Their special services dept. needs some training, period, on what the actual layout of each accessible room is like including the bathrooms. Some resorts have "tub with handrail" accessible bathrooms that will accomodate a wheelchair user who can't transfer ( AKL, Contemporary, Coronado that I've stayed in and some that don't ( All Stars, Pop Century, POR, POFQ, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk). The special svcs dept. doesn't seem to be aware of this and people making a request probably wouldn't think to ask either, figuring that all resorts have the same accomodations. This is just a small problem when compared with Nanajo's. I hope you were compensated for what happened and for your disappointment. I'm not one to ever ask for compensation but if I'd have been the one who lost my GV and had notified MS that I was using an ECV and thus needed one, I'd have been demanding something other than what was given to your party. You're very brave for not letting it spoil your vacation. ---Kathy

 

[SueM in MN]

Nanajo, I think I would have cried too. A GV is such a special booking I can only imagine how disappointed you must have been. Glad to hear you didn't let it put a damper on your vacation.

Sue, my understanding is that it IS Special Services that blocks rooms when you need an accessible room. In fact, for our last few stays with our daughter, the process has been identical. Whether I call MS or DRC, I'm put on hold while the CM talks to Special Needs. It used to be I was transferred to that dept. if I called DRC but not anymore.

But in Nanajo's case it sounds as if Special Needs wasn't involved at all since she didn't have an ECV when she made the reservation.

Did you enjoy the GV when you finally got into it, Nanajo?

That's interesting.
We don't usually get an accessible room because DD is not that big and a regular 2 bedroom works just fine as long as we have it on 1st floor.

But, when we made our reservations for next March, DH let them know we needed an accessible GV. He mentioned several times that we had a DD who uses a wheelchair and can't walk, so we could not be on 2nd floor. He also mentioned that we would have someone using an ECV (FIL) who would need to bring that to the room. The CM he talked to said she would put it in as a "Medical request". She did tell him it was not guaranteed, but the whole "Medical Requests are filled first thing and you should not have any problem...."

I called back and got another CM, who I told we needed to be guaranteed to have first floor entry or an elevator building for our GV because of the person with a wheelchair who can't walk and I told her that if we got there and had a GV that had to be accessed with steps, we would not be able to stay there. She agreed we needed a guaranteed GV. She did tell me she was going to put me on hold while she called to see if an accessible GV was available. Then she came back, said one was and that she was going to block us in for one and change our reservation for confirmed.
I asked her if we should have dealt with Special Services ourselves and she was the one who told me that they just involve Special Services to make sure they have not already blocked everything.
So, maybe I misunderstood, maybe she meant that SS blocked the rooms and said she did it.
She did say though that Member Services are the ones who handle the "Medical Requests" (as opposed to the completely accessible rooms).

But, like Nanajo, my DH was very clear in talking to the first CM that we had a wheelchair and could not use a room that was entered on 2nd floor (unless there was an elevator). The CM should have picked up that was a situation where we had to reserve a wheelchair accessible room in order to assure access (because of the scarcity of GVs). We were lucky that I knew that. Nanajo was unlucky that she didn't.
But, it should not depend on what you know, the CMs should be able to use some critical thinking skills and figure out what you need from what you are telling them.
The CMs seem to need some training on what that means, since most people who are using ECVs or wheelchairs for mobility are not going to be able to climb stairs - or will be with a lot of difficulty.

 

[SueM in MN]

Their special services dept. needs some training, period, on what the actual layout of each accessible room is like including the bathrooms. Some resorts have "tub with handrail" accessible bathrooms that will accomodate a wheelchair user who can't transfer ( AKL, Contemporary, Coronado that I've stayed in and some that don't ( All Stars, Pop Century, POR, POFQ, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk). The special svcs dept. doesn't seem to be aware of this and people making a request probably wouldn't think to ask either, figuring that all resorts have the same accomodations.

I don't understand why they don't have a database for the CMs.
They should have a searchable database that includes fields for things like you are mentioning. The database should also include links to floor plans with measurements (like someone recently was asking on the DVC Planning Board about door opening sizes and the height of beds) and pictures that they could email/print out on request.
We don't personally need a lot of information because DD's wheelchair is fairly narrow for an adult chair and she is light enough to lift if we have to. But, some people need really specific things and they should be able to know that they will have what they need when they get there.

 

[Nanajo1]

Carli D'Agostino called me yesterday. She was very gracious. She apologized for taking so long to get back to me but she said she wanted to investigate and find out what happened. DVC took responsible for the problem. Member Services is the contact with Special Needs and they should have called Special Needs to block off the GV I needed. She confirmed that Tatiana at the front desk had credited me for one night GV points. She also said because the mix up caused my party to move multiple times she credited my account the difference in points I used and what I would have used if there had been no mix up. The points were put in my current use year.
I didn't note if she actually said MS would be reminded to involve Special Needs when medical requests are made but I have that impression. Unfortunately, when she called I had family arriving for dinner and it was a bit chaotic. At least I now know to request Special Needs.
All in all I am pleased with the resolution.

 

[BCV23]

That is great, Nanajo1. Thanks for the update.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the update.
We have a GV at OKW reserved for March. It does say that "Handicapped Accessible Confirmed", so hopefully we will turn out fine.