How Home Care Services Empower Senior Women
It’s only been a hundred years since American women gained the right to vote. Congress passed this 19th amendment to the Constitution in June 1919 and ratified it in August 1920. While in theory these voting rights applied to all American women, in practice many women of color did not gain the right to vote in America until much later, largely due to citizenship and immigration laws. This means that the senior women of today began their lives during a time in which their rights as women were extremely limited. With home care services, senior women don’t need to live out the last years of their lives feeling like they are in a similar situation.
Empowering Senior Women with Home Care Services
Home care services empower senior women in a variety of ways. Home care services are empowering for seniors in general, and even more so for minorities and for people who are at risk in society. Below are five of the many ways in which home care services empower senior women.
Increased Bodily Autonomy
One of the fears of growing old is losing control and autonomy over your body. Things tend to fall apart as we age and we find our physical well-being increasingly in the hands of other people, such as doctors, nurses, and caregivers. Home caregiving often provides more options for bodily autonomy than other caregiving services. Home caregivers from reputable home care agencies, like Alegre Home Care, work diligently with clients to create customized care plans based on each individual’s unique needs. This gives senior women a stronger say and more control over the kind of physical care they receive.
Better Health Care Treatment
Home caregivers act as a line of defense for seniors and can advocate for the health and rights of their senior clients. This is especially empowering for senior women. According to WebMD, women almost always experience a higher misdiagnosis rate than men. For example, when it comes to heart disease, women have a 50% higher chance of getting an incorrect initial diagnosis, even after having a heart attack. The problem of delayed or misdiagnosed illnesses is even worse for senior women and women of color. Home caregivers can empower senior women to receive better health treatment by advocating for the rights of their senior clients, by helping track changes in health, and by asking for daily feedback and input from the senior women in their care.
Sustained Independence
By design, home care services provide a sustained level of independence. Being able to age within the comfort of one’s home allows seniors to maintain their sense of identity and empowers their sense of self. Home care services prevent seniors from having to lose many things that they love, such as their belongings, their home, connections to family members, and their animal companions. Many senior women had to overcome challenging obstacles and work extra hard to achieve their independence and home care services empowers them to maintain this hard-earned right.
Connection to Community
When people reach a certain point of age, they often lose connection to communities they’ve long been a part of. Home care services help people retain ties to their communities by enabling people to stay within their communities rather than being removed from them. Home caregivers can also help facilitate outings, arrange transportation, research community events, and organize gatherings with family members and friends. There are many benefits to being involved in a community. These include higher levels of confidence and increases in overall well-being.
The Right to Choose
Home care services almost always provide more options than other types of senior care services. For today’s senior women, who often had to fight for the right to have choices, having options available to choose from is empowering. Senior women who receive home care services have more options available when it comes to care plans, hobbies, diet, meal plans, and social activities. This is due to the nature of home care, which has a focus on the individuality and preferences of each person receiving care.
Learn More About Our Home Care Agency in California
Alegre Home Care provides high quality home care services by employing, training, and supervising select home caregivers. Our caregivers attend to clients with compassion, respect, and understanding. Companionship, light housekeeping, meal preparation, personal care, medication reminders, errands, or respite are only few ways our caregivers can help people stay independent in their own homes. Alegre Home Care is one of the few home care agencies in California that specializes in Alzheimer’s and dementia care services. We also provide specialized training to our home caregivers so that they are best equipped to handle the unique needs of LGBTQ seniors. To learn more about our in home care in San Rafael, CA and the nearby communities or to inquire about services, please contact us at one of our Northern California locations.
