By Carolina de la Cajiga
“My mother was a social worker, and she taught me to care for others. Although I graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey with a degree in industrial design, when I moved to San Miguel my plans shifted. I was surprised by the large number of seniors living here. I discovered I had a natural affinity for understanding their needs. Instinctively, I realized the problems they face; particularly those who live alone and lack the Spanish skills to search for the care they require. My heart se magulló (bruised) when I saw this suffering. My brain went into full gear looking for solutions to assist them”, explained Amaya.
“I began investigating how senior care works. When sculptors look at a block of marble, they intellectually visualize what the stone hides. Following the veins as guides they know where and how to cut to create what their mind sees. So, I began carving and polishing my ideas until a full plan emerged. I invented nothing. Healthcare for elderly people already exists. I’ve just been updating and transforming it to suit what is needed here in San Miguel,” expressed Amaya with confidence.
“I’m proud to have created Home Life Care, an organization that guides and connects the senior or the person in need with the right provider. Having no background in medical services gave me the freedom to combine different specialties and fulfill my moral and social commitments.”
Home Life Care (HLC) offers companionship, caregiving, nursing, first aid, and geriatric assistance for the elderly or those recovering from illnesses or accidents. The spectrum of what HLC delivers ranges, among other things, from escorting, reading, translating, shopping, taking to doctors appointments, and handling medications and injections. Home Life Care is not a nursing or retirement home as their services are provided in the comfort of the client’s residence. HLC is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Home Life Care is a young, energetic company, with lots of drive, flexibility, and adaptability to serve the needs of the elderly and anyone requiring special care. Amaya illuminates, “Our professional team is bilingual and top-of-the-line. The service we provide breaks the pyramid paradigm that exists in other care agencies in San Miguel, and almost everywhere else in the world, where the person in charge orders and the workers execute. In the linear model I designed, we all contribute and complement each other.”
The work Home Life Care performs is compassionate and proficient. The client’s health and life are most important. Amaya coordinates the services to be delivered by the team depending on the patient’s and the family’s needs. Each team member has the same culture of ethics and professionalism: everyone is a responsible humanitarian who believes in the benefits their services provide.
Nevertheless, just wanting to help is not enough. To run this company, Amaya had to retrain. Her technological schooling was the foundation for setting up a multidisciplinary company like this one, yet she had to prepare herself in order to understand what the team members do. “I am already certified by the National Institute of Geriatrics (INGER) and by the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation Mexico Center (EKR Mexico Center), and I’m currently taking a nursing assistant course at a school in San Miguel. I encourage the team members to update their training and, most importantly, to learn or improve their English, which is indispensable,” she recounted. The company and the team continue evolving to suit the challenges they encounter.
“If you are not well yourself, you can’t help anyone else. For me, there is no nine-to-five day or Monday to Friday week; I am available 24 /7 and ready to immediately respond to the needs of the clients. When there are no emergencies, I take a five-kilometer walk with Simon, my ‘personal caretaker’ as I call my beautiful dog. We both go to the Meditation Center on Callejón Blanco in Centro. This is essential to maintain my physical and mental health,” says Amaya.
She emphasizes confidence in herself and her team, “It takes a lot of discipline to be an entrepreneur. Every day at 9:30am I am at work ready to coordinate the team. I’m always looking out for qualified personnel so we continue improving and growing. To maintain the excellence I demand, I must attract experienced professionals ready to give one hundred percent.”
«When people say starting a business is hard, this is no exaggeration. It’s like having kids. You don’t know what you’re getting into until you’re there, and there’s no turning back,» says Amaya with a twinkle in her eyes.
“I am ready. My team is ready. My company is ready. We are all ready to serve when the need arises,” she utters with satisfaction.
To reach Diana Anaya and Home Life Care, go to www.homelifecare.mx, or 442 331 4226.
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