Every career in the healthcare sector is important to include services provided by certified Home Health Aides. These professionals are required to go through specialized training and education so they can take care of people in the privacy of their homes. The typical type of patient a Home Health Aide assists would be someone with a terminal illness, someone receiving Hospice care, a person immobile due to illness or injury, and so on, whether a temporary or permanent situation.
A Home Health Aide works alone often but under the guidance of a registered nurse. Unlike more conventional nurses and aides, Home Health Aides go to a person’s home or assisted living facility to provide healthcare services. In addition to having qualifications for specific types of medical care, this professional must also deal with emotional issues associated with the patient but also the patient’s family and friends.
Because this is such a critical position, the future is bright for qualified Home Health Aides. Ideally, this position would prepare a person to move up into a nursing career although some people are completely satisfied in providing the type of care as a regular career. In either case, Home Health Aide duties are much the same, which are addressed below.
Education and Training
Before we go into specific Home Health Aide duties, it is essential to understand the necessary education and training involved. While only a high school education is required, someone interested in using this position to move up within the healthcare sector should become certified. With a Home Health Aide Certification also referred to as CHHA, this person would be hired for better jobs and make more money. To earn certification, a competency test required by the Federal government would need to be passed.
In addition, earning a voluntary certification from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice or NAHC, which would create further opportunities but also more job stability and greater earning potential. Along with these two certifications, other options exist to become the best at Home Health Aide duties possibilities. Some of the other areas in which education and training would benefit someone in this role performing various Home Health Aide duties are listed below.
Geriatrics
HIV/AIDS Awareness Training
Introduction to Nutrition, Physical Therapy, Body Systems
Use of Laboratory Equipment
Respiratory Equipment Training
Job Responsibilities
In this section is information specific to Home Health Aide duties, showing the versatility required to perform this job well.
Vital Signs – This would include taking a patient’s temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate
Personal Care – As a part of these Home Health Aide duties would be assisting the patient with daily hygiene such as showering, baths, getting dressed, brushing hair, brushing teeth, keeping fingernails and toenails trimmed, applying lotion, shaving, etc.
Mobility – In addition to providing care in the area of physical therapy, assistance with mobility would also be a part of daily Home Health Aide duties such as helping the patient walk, get in and out bed or chairs, providing assistance with making restroom trips, etc. When needed, various types of medical equipment would be used in cases when the Home Health Aide could not physically move or lift a patient.
Preventative Care – All Home Health Aide duties are under the supervision and guidance of a registered nurse so in this position, the aide would look for problems such as skin outbreaks, reactions to new medication, and abnormal vital signs, among others
Miscellaneous – Along with the Home Health Aide duties mentioned, this individual would also need to clean and empty a patient’s catheter bag, administer medication, offer companionship through communication, reading mail, writing letters, and even working with family members, especially in cases of terminally ill patients.
Summary
As stated, the types of Home Health Aide duties are varied, which is nice in that this professional seldom has time to become bored but because of the type of patients being cared for, the job can also be stressful. For instance, patients with a terminal illness or even those under hospice care are facing the end of life.
As one can imagine, this is a very difficult and emotional scenario for the patient, family, friends, and the Home Health Aide. This is why proper education and training is so critical in that this person learns the proper way of caring for the patient during life but also family after a patient has passed on.