CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – U.S. Army veteran O’Neal Wiggins retired from service to his country in 2005 after more than 23 years. A few years later, in 2010 became part of the Clarksville business scene as owner of Wiggins Medical Transit.
During his time in the military, Wiggins served at Fort Knox in Kentucky, Fort Huachuca in Arizona, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and right here at Fort Campbell. His service included tours of duty in Iraq, Germany, South Korea, Italy and Egypt.
Wiggins continues to serve outside the military in a different way with Wiggins Medical Transit, which was born out of an idea and a need that his father, O’Neal Sr., helped bring to his attention. Wiggins’ father suffered a stroke in 2008 and O’Neal made several trips to Georgia to help take care of him.
His father was not able to drive or even walk, so Wiggins turned to help from local agencies. Wiggins said it was challenging to find wheelchair transportation for his dad to get where he needed to go in a timely manner.
Wiggins said his father planted a seed in his mind when he talked about how when you get older, people should care more about you. He imagined that the same thing was happening to many other seniors in Clarksville.
“Originally, we only wanted to support people in wheelchairs, but as we started to serve our community, we realized there were needs here other than just wheelchairs. So, we serve people with physical disabilities and disabilities that you can’t see like intellectual disabilities,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins describes his business as a non-emergency transportation company. “We have partnered with some of the assisted living facilities in Clarksville, we will take people home for the holidays to spend time with their loved ones.”
Wiggins said there are people who are not able to drive and may need to go to the grocery store or want to go to a hair salon. “We provide that type of service as well, and we are proud of it. We’ll also pick them up on Sunday and take them to church,” Wiggins said.
The COVID-19 pandemic shut down their services in October 2019. But since November 2021, Wiggins said, they are back on the road with three vehicles rolling constantly while successfully protecting their drivers and their customers.
Wiggins said they have been operating safely for the past 12 years with no accidents. They not only cover Clarksville-Montgomery County, but also surrounding counties, and Wiggins added they have traveled to Kentucky and Alabama, so they will go across state lines.
“Wiggins said we are here for the customer’s needs, and we truly mean that. We do work from a schedule, but if you have an appointment and need to be at the hospital or the doctor’s office at 6 o’clock in the morning, call us and we will cater a trip just for that appointment,” Wiggins said.
To get in touch with Wiggins Medical Transit, visit wigginsmedicaltransit.com, email ow@wigginsmedicaltransit.com or call 931-216-4035.