Home Health Aide Training Programs

Looking into home health aide training? Home health aides give basic type of medical care to patients in their homes.

Home health aides also do some types of domestic services. It may not take a lot of time to receive the necessary skills that you may need. Here is some basic information for home health aide training. It is also important to be sensitive to patient needs and understand that some people may have mental problems. A Home Health Aide (HHA) is also known as a Home Caregiver, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Patient Care Technician or Residential Assistant (RA). An HHA is primarily responsible for providing basic, personal care and health-related services to patients who require more assistance than family members are able to provide. HHAs are part of a category of health care occupations known as Direct Care Workers. The particular services or care that a HHA provides depends on their particular area of specialty.

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Selected Online Nursing Degree Programs

University of Phoenix

• RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Kaplan University

• RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Colorado Technical University and Colorado Technical University Online

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Chamberlain College of Nursing

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN)

Keiser University - Online

• Registered Nurse, RN to BSN

Jacksonville University RN to BSN Online

• RN to BSN (licensed RNs only)

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• RN to BSN Online Program

• RN to BS in Nursing

Western Governors University

• B.S. in Nursing

Nursing Schools in Canada (Diploma Programs)

CDI College

• Nursing Assistant

Vancouver Career College

• Practical Nursing (PN) - Generic

Home Health Aide Education and Training

There are minimal education requirements for this position. You will need a high school diploma or a GED prior to commencing home health aide training. You will need to check with your state for exact certification requirements, as they vary a great deal. Many states do not require you to have a license. Your training may be supervised by a professional nurse, and it will be on the job training. You may need as much as seventy five hours of training to qualify. You may also have to prove that you can handle certain tasks like moving a patient to and from a bed.

Home Health Aide Careers

Your job may require a great deal of travel as you will go to patients home and care for them. You may be required to do a great deal of lifting and carrying of things. This will also include lifting patients. You will give basic health care like taking vital signs and making sure that patients are doing well. In some cases, it may be necessary to do some type of housework, as some patients may be bed ridden. This may include dusting, vacuuming, and doing laundry or changing bedding. Some of the work may be considered to be unpleasant by many. This can involve changing wound dressings or adult diapers.

Some of the work may be with Hospice patients and you will need to know about dealing with terminal patients. Some patients may be paralyzed or have Alzheimer's disease. You may need to help some patients that are limited by stroke or heart attack. Some may be disabled and dealing with long term illnesses, too.

With home health aide training, you may work for local welfare agencies or private agencies that provide home health care. Most aides work a forty hour week, but some also work part-time. In some cases, you may need to work some weekend or evening hours. You also may be subject to a complete background check as you will be entering private residences.

Expected Salary and Projected Career Growth

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average wage for home health aide workers is $10.13 per hour, for 2009. This comes to a little over $21,000 per year. These figures may vary a great deal, depending on the city and state where you live.

The future for most health care workers will increase close to twenty percent by the year 2018. However, projected growth for home health aides is expected to be somewhere near fifty percent. This represents a huge demand for these workers in the coming years. The amount of people that are elderly will continue to increase at a steady rate for many more years.

Hospital stays continue to shorten. At the same time, hospital bills continue to rise and insurance and Medicare deductibles also continue to rise. This will increase the demand for home health care. You have an excellent chance for future, steady employment by taking home health aide training.