Friday, March 8th is International Women’s Day, and it kicks off Women’s History Month all March long. As a women-owned and operated local business here in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, Assisting Hands Home Care of Arlington Heights, IL would like to use this time to celebrate the remarkable women in our industry and in our own dear community.
Assisting Hands Voted Among Top 50 Franchises for Women
Did you know that Assisting Hands was voted, by women, as one of the Top 50 Franchises for women in 2018? Caregiving is our passion here at Assisting Hands, which is why we attract people with a passion for compassion!
We know that many Americans, however, are informal caregivers, providing countless acts and hours of care to their families and friends. Did you know at least 60% of caregivers in the United States providing informal care to their adult family members or loved ones are women, and they may dedicate as much as 50% more time to caregiving than male caregivers? In fact, the most common type of caregiver in this country is a 49 year old woman, who works outside of her home and also provides up to 20 hours per week of unpaid labor as a caregiver for her mother. Indeed, the amount of unpaid caregiving labor provided by women in this country could add up to $148 to $188 Billion every year!
Challenges Women Face as Caregivers
At Assisting Hands, we know that caregiving is a labor of love, it’s what we do! But too often informal caregiving needs may put a woman’s job in jeopardy or encourage women to leave the workforce early, leading to financial difficulty with their own retirement. The toll of caregiving for a loved one can have health risks as well. Studies have shown an increase in risk for anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and heart disease in female caregivers caring for their family members.
As women face these challenges in America today, here at Assisting Hands we know how important respite care and providing compassionate, quality care can be for our amazing clients and that’s exactly why we went into this business! People are living longer these days, and women are statistically projected to continue living longer than men, so our fabulous women who work so hard will need our help most of all as they grow older!
We Just Want to Say…Thank You!
As we take this month to celebrate women, please find a moment to acknowledge and appreciate all that the women in your life do. Providing care is a job that deserves the same esteem as any other. It requires intelligence, dedication, empathy and emotional labor, and is all too often seen as simply a given for granddaughters, daughters, and wives to take on.
About 76% of our clients at Assisting Hands Home Care are women, and about 96% of our professional caregivers are women. We appreciate the often unmeasurable work they do for us every day. We know that caregiving is about so much more than doing chores or giving a ride to a doctor’s appointment. We know what you do every day, and all we can say is, we see you, we hear you, we respect your work and we appreciate you!
Contact Us
For more information regarding the caregiving services we provide in Arlington Heights, IL and the surrounding area, call Assisting Hands at (847) 462-4402.
