The Caregiving Chronicles blog has been a little quiet of late, but we had a good reason.

Blog author and Caregiving MetroWest Program Manager Douglas Flynn, along with BayPath Elder Services Executive Director Christine Alessandro and BayPath Caregiver Specialist – and Wellness Wall author – Alicia Rego, headed across the country last week, traveling to San Diego for the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) annual conference.

The BayPath contingent was there to make a presentation on how BayPath has implemented an innovative and effective multi-tier approach to caregiver support by combining web-, home- and community-based programs. BayPath returned to Massachusetts having not only shared its knowledge, but having picked up a prestigious award for its efforts to assist family caregivers through this website.

Caregiving MetroWest program received an n4a Aging Innovations Award, the highest honor presented by n4a to member agencies.

The awards program is sponsored by Critical Signal Technologies your Link to Life (CST-LTL). Caregiving MetroWest was among the top 16 of 46 local aging programs to receive honors during the n4a Annual Conference & Tradeshow, July 24-28.

BayPath Elder Services earned second-place honors nationally in the Aging Innovations category and a $1,000 prize for its Caregiving MetroWest website and program.

Funded initially through grants from the MetroWest Health Foundation, CaregivingMetroWest.org provides family caregivers in 25 MetroWest communities robust access to information, connections to resources and enhanced support.

Our goal since the MetroWest Health Foundation first approached us about creating a website for caregivers in 2012 was to provide a single point of access to the information, support and resources that the growing ranks of family caregivers so desperately need. Anything that we can do to ease the burden on those indispensable caregivers in any way is invaluable. And we are extremely proud and appreciative that our years of hard work creating and improving the site have been recognized with such a prestigious award.

BayPath and Caregiving MetroWest would like to thank the n4a, Critical Signal Technologies, all of the attendees who came to our presentation and everyone who has supported and helped make CaregivingMetroWest.org a success since it was launched in 2014.

The 2016 n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards recognizes Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Title VI Native American aging programs that develop and implement cutting-edge approaches to support older adults, people with disabilities and their family caregivers. A part of the criteria for the selection of the honorees was the ease with which other agencies could replicate the program in their communities.

“With the health care landscape continuing to change rapidly, our members are discovering new ways to position themselves in the long-term and health care marketplaces, as well as to strengthen long-standing services, to meet the needs of America’s rapidly growing older adult population,” said n4a’s Chief Executive Officer Sandy Markwood. “Our members work tirelessly, and with little fanfare in their communities, and this program enables us to shine a well-deserved spotlight on their critical work to support older adults’ health, safety, independence and dignity.”

l-r) Alicia Rego, Christine Alessandro and Douglas Flynn pose with the check earned with BayPath’s Aging Innovations Award for Caregiving MetroWest.