Home Health Aide Career
Overview
- Job opportunities are expected to be excellent due to the rapid growth in home healthcare.
- Training requirements vary from state to state, the type of home services agency, and funding source covering the costs of services.
- Many home health aides work part time and weekends or evenings to suit the needs of their clients.
Nature of the Work
Home health aides help older adults who are disabled, chronically ill, or cognitively impaired. Home health aides also assist people in Hospice day programs and those with disabilities remain active in their communities. Most aides work with elderly clients who are physically and/or mentally disabled and need more care than family or friends can provide. Others help discharged hospital patients who have relatively short-term needs.
Aides may provide light housekeeping and homemaking tasks including laundry, changing of bed linens, grocery shopping, as well as planning and preparation of meals. Additionally, aides may help clients get out of bed, bathe, dress, and groom. Some accompany clients to doctors' appointments and other errands.
Home health aides provide instruction and psychological support to their clients. They may advise families and patients on nutrition, cleanliness, and household tasks.
Aides’ daily routine may vary. They may go to the same home daily or weekly for months or years and often visit four to five clients on the same day. However, some aides may work solely with one client who is in need of more care and attention. In some situations, this may involve working with other aides in shifts so that the client has an aide 24 hours a day. Aides also work with younger adults at schools or at the client’s work site.
Home health aides typically work for certified home health or hospice agencies that receive government funding and therefore must comply with specified regulations to receive funding. This means that they must work under the direct supervision of a medical professional, usually an RN. These aides keep records of services performed and of the clients' condition and progress. They report changes in the client's condition to the supervisor or case manager. Aides also work with therapists and other medical staff.
Home health aides may provide some basic health-related services, such as checking patients' pulse rate, temperature, and respiratory rate. They may also help with simple prescribed exercises and assist with administering medication. Occasionally, they change simple dressings, give massages, provide skin care, or assist with braces and artificial limbs. With special training, experienced home health aides may also assist with medical equipment such as ventilators.
Work environment
Work as an aide can be physically demanding. Aides must guard against back injury because they may have to move patients in and out of bed or help them to stand or walk. Aides also may face hazards from minor infections and exposure to communicable diseases, such as hepatitis, but they can avoid infections by following proper procedures. Because mechanical lifting devices available in institutional settings are not as frequently available in patients' homes, home health aides must take extra care to avoid injuries resulting from overexertion when they assist patients.
Aides sometimes perform tasks that some may consider unpleasant, such as emptying bedpans and changing soiled bed linens. The patients they care for may be disoriented, irritable, or uncooperative. Although their work can be emotionally demanding, many aides gain satisfaction from assisting those in need. Surroundings differ by case. Some homes are neat whereas others are untidy. Some clients are pleasant and cooperative while others are more challenging.
Home health aides generally work alone, with periodic visits from their supervisor. They receive detailed instructions explaining when to visit patients and what services to perform. Aides are responsible for getting to patients' homes, and they may spend a good portion of the work day traveling from one patient to another.
Employment
Home health aides held about 1.7 million jobs in 2008. The majority of jobs were in home healthcare services, individual and family services, residential care facilities, and private households.
Job Outlook
Excellent job opportunities are expected for this occupation because rapid employment growth and high replacement needs are projected to produce a large number of job openings.
Employment of home health aides is projected to grow by 50 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. The expected growth is due, in large part, to the projected rise in the number of elderly people, an age group that often has mounting health problems and needs some assistance with daily activities. The elderly and other clients, such as the mentally disabled, increasingly rely on home care.
This trend reflects several developments. Inpatient care in hospitals and nursing homes can be extremely expensive, so more patients return to their homes from these facilities as quickly as possible in order to contain costs. Patients, who need assistance with everyday tasks and household chores rather than medical care, can reduce medical expenses by returning to their homes. Furthermore, most patients—particularly the elderly—prefer care in their homes rather than in nursing homes or other in-patient facilities. This development is aided by the realization that treatment can be more effective in familiar surroundings.
Earnings
The national median hourly wage of home health aides was $9.84 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $8.52 and $11.69 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.65, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $13.93 an hour.
Aides can receive slight pay increases with experience and added responsibility. Usually, they are paid only for the time worked in the home, not for travel time between jobs, and must pay for their travel costs from their earnings. Most employers hire only on-call hourly workers.
All material on this page is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition.