News
Spotlight on Innovations and Achievements: Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley
- By: USAging
- On: 08/27/2021 10:09:24
- In: Hot Topics in Aging
Learn how this agency designed an on-demand transportation program that provides rides to non-emergency medical appointments when traditional providers are unavailable.
We're proud to highlight the award-winning work of the 2020 winners of USAging's Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards in this weekly spotlight feature. This week, we are focusing on the Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley's CareRide initiative. The agency was a 2020 Aging Achievement Award winner in the Transportation & Mobility category. The 2020 AIA Awards were made possible thanks to the support of Centene.
CareRide is an on-demand transportation initiative that provides low-income older adults free or subsidized rides to non-emergency medical appointments. Working with Circulation Health, Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore customized a digital platform originally created for Uber and Lyft that enables older adults to schedule rides when traditional providers (family, friends, public transit, taxis, aging services vans) are not available. Referrals from senior centers, AAA care managers and doctors' offices are processed by a bilingual transportation coordinator who contacts clients 24 hours prior to their appointments with a reminder.
To learn more about CareRide and how your agency can replicate it, contact Martha Leen, mleen@esmv.org. For other great program ideas, check out the new 2021 AIA-winning programs: see the press release and read this year's book of winners! To read about past winners and find other best practices for your agency to consider, visit our Best Practices Clearinghouse.
The 2021 Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards are made possible by the generous support of iN2L. Our summaries of the 2021 recipients will start this fall.