SUPERIOR — C.W. Transportation Services opened in 2022, tucked into an office in the Alignment Brake Center building at 1201 Banks Ave.
“I started out with four vans and we did minimal transports,” co-owner Warren Little said. “Then we got a contract, a big contract, with Inclusa, which is a very large managed care organization in Wisconsin.”
Today, the business has 13 medical transport vehicles and 16 drivers at its new Superior location at 1619 Broadway St. The garage area is lined with specialized equipment, from stretchers to bariatric wheelchairs, to help bring clients home following an emergency stay in the hospital.
“We are one of the biggest companies in the region here,” Little said, providing 75-100 rides per day.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
The business offers ambulatory, wheelchair and stretcher transports to and from medical appointments, hospital stays and activities such as family get-togethers and grocery shopping. They also offer transportation for hospice and COVID-19 patients.
“I cannot speak highly enough about the drivers and the staff,” said Greg Williams, of Superior. “They’re all top-notch people and they work around you. They make it happen for you.”
C.W. Transportation Services’ hours of operation, 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, meaning they’re available when Williams needs them.
“I get picked up about 20 to 6 in the morning to go to dialysis. I feel bad for them they have to get up so early, but Warren is so accommodating. He made it work,” he said.
Gail Trombley, of Superior, called the business, and the drivers, amazing.
“They are very relatable, compassionate and they go out of their way to try to make sure that … my transportation is stress-free,” she said.
When she travels to a medical appointment, whether down to the Mayo Clinic or through the construction in downtown Duluth, Trombley said, “It’s their headache, not mine.”
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
C.W. Transportation Services drivers do more than pick up and drop off a client.
“What we do is make sure that they get to their appointment and they’re checked in before we walk away,” Little said. “We do not wheel somebody in and just leave. We call it door-to-door service, but it’s really more than that.”
Drivers are cross-trained in multiple areas, CPR certified, and receive training on how to care for clients with dementia or traumatic brain injuries.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
“When we interview drivers, we want to hire people that are very vested in other people, because my motto is everybody you transport, treat them like it’s a family member, like it’s your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother,” Little said.
“Our Patients Are Our Purpose” is written on the doors of the transportation services vehicles and the front of employee sweatshirts.
That sense of family extends to the drivers and staff at the business. When mechanic and driver Gary Myers lost his home and dog in a house fire Jan. 4, Little launched a GoFundMe page for him.
“I love working here. I know every business says we’re like family but we actually are because we’re small and we know each other,” said Anne Hoyt, a billing specialist for the company. “We do stuff together and we take care of each other.”
Little, who grew up in the town of Maple, saw the need for transportation in the area firsthand while working as a registered nurse for Essentia Health.
“I worked in nursing administration there and I met my partner, Chad Andrist, who was a travel nurse,” Little said.
When Andrist suggested launching a business, they chose medical transportation and approached it from a nursing standpoint.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
“He’s always been very community-based and wanting to do more,” said Hoyt, who knew Little before he launched the business. “This kind of thing doesn’t surprise me because he saw a need.”
The entrepreneurs started with small hubs in Superior and Byron, Minnesota, where Andrist lives, in 2022. When two Twin Ports area transportation services closed their doors in 2023, the Superior office expanded to fill that gap. Little said they were able to purchase fleet vehicles and bring in drivers from the closing businesses.
C.W. Transportation Services covers a wide circle of the Upper Midwest, from the Canadian border to southern Wisconsin. Little plans to expand in 2025 with additional hubs, including in the Green Bay area and on Minnesota’s Iron Range.
Little and Andrist have launched a second business, We Care CPR, that offers CPR, AED and first aid certification courses.
“I just looked at what can we do to help the community,” Little said. “What can we do that’s going to be something really positive and that’s going to be something that benefits our community.”
Little and Andrist are working on a third business model, C.W. Shuttle Services, to offer non-medical transportation for ambulatory clients who want to go shopping, to the casino, to a family event, or other activities.
“It’s something that we really have a need for right now,” Little said.
Trombley is able to use C.W. Transportation Services through Inclusa. She was able to sign up with the managed health care provider through the Douglas County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC).
“To be able to utilize the service that they offer, I would go to ADRC,” she said. “ADRC is a really great resource.”
John Desjarlais of Esko works as both a mechanic and driver for C.W. Transportation Services.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
“I do like going to pick up clients. I like helping people,” Desjarlais said.
As they talk on the way to their destination, he said, some of them share a little history about the city. Others express how happy they are to be out in the community.
“You get a connection with some of these people, especially people you pick up a lot. There’s always a connection,” Desjarlais said.
Visit
or
facebook.com/CWTransportationServices
for more information.
