Historically women have been caregivers. The time they spend providing hands on love and compassion is estimated to equal 148 billion dollars each year*. Equally interesting, women live approximately 19 years longer than men and have a 70% higher chance of needing supportive services in order to live at home.
Many of the clients we are serving today were born during the time of Woman’s Sufferage as they gained the right to vote in 1920. They have seen much progress in the way of women’s rights. Today, the workforce is greater than 50% women and some statistics show that more young women are graduating with college degrees than men.
March has been National Women’s Month in the United States since 1987. In honor of all of our women clients and home care aides we would like to say thank you. Thank you for shaping the industry that we work in. For caring and being willing to shape your lives around the needs of others.
We would like to thank one of Care N Assist’s own, Stacey Zsigo, RN. Stacey is the administrator for our office in Corunna, MI. She says that even as a child she knew that she wanted to be a nurse. She started out as a candy striper and worked her way up. Now she manages over sixty home care aides and care providers, volunteers as the Corunna Rotary President and is the mother of three wonderful children.
It is true that men can and have been caregivers. Overwhelmingly, women have been more likely to give special attention to the needs of their aging parents and friends. They have prevented many from becoming institutionalized and shaped the culture of caring that we have.
Caring for others is a value that Care N Assist possesses. This means that we are educated and able to answer questions and meet needs. It mans having a staff that is trained and skilled to meet the needs of our clients. It also means being prepared for the unpredictable nature of our client’s lives.
*Family Caregiver Alliance; Arno, P. S. (2002, February). The economic value of informal caregiving, U.S., 2000. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, Florida.
