I just want to remind everyone that there are only 16 more days (including today) to send in your entry for the Tenth Anniversary Caregiver Friendly Awards for 2012. So get a move on.  I look forward to sharing this year’s winners with all of you.

What do comfort seats, caregiving workbooks, caregiver friendly assist jackets, loving conversations and medication tracking systems all have in common? These are descriptions of some of our Caregiver Friendly Award winners from the past 10 years. They also represent thousands of hours of loving labor by their producers and manufactures, all working with one thought in common: “What can I do to help the life of the family caregiver become easier?”

Every year, we are truly impressed by the quality of the entries into the award program; but what I am most excited about is the wide variety of industries that are now sending in entries and the incredible work they are producing with family caregivers in mind. We have been asked to extend the deadline this year to accommodate some of these organizations and are happy to comply.

We at Today’s Caregiver magazine and caregiver.com launched the Caregiver Friendly Awards in 2002 to celebrate products, services, programs, books and media designed with the needs of caregivers in mind. Entries for products include wheelchairs, consumer medical devices, disposable products and accessible devices. Among the entries for services and programs are insurance, medical and EAP programs, care and case management organizations, long-term care facilities, homecare and transportation organizations, as well as non-profit agencies. The entries for books concentrate on Caregiver Friendly books (informative, educational, inspirational, and insightful). Areas encompassed by the media entries are audio, video and website producers.

Award winners will be recognized at Today’s Caregiver magazine’s Fearless Caregiver Conferences. Winners will also be highlighted on caregiver.com where last year’s winners can presently be found and in the pages of Today’s Caregiver magazine.

Please share your labors of love with family caregivers and let them know that someone out there is thinking of them. Award entry applications can be found online at www.caregiver.com or by calling 800-829-2734. Make sure yours is received by March 16, 2012.