What Does a Home Health Aide Do?
Nov 05, 2016The Home health aide have an extremely important job; they help seniors with daily living skills. This job is incredibly rewarding, so if you love to care for people, you’ll probably love being a home health aide.
What Does a Home Health Aide Do?
Home health aides have many duties.
- They spend time with seniors.
- They help seniors care for themselves, such as brushing teeth, hair, and cooking meals.
- They ensure they take their medication and remain healthy by checking blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
If a home health aide ever notices a change in their client’s health, they must report it. A family member may need to know, or the doctor needs to be called.
Where You Work
Most home health aides work for an agency. They receive clients from the agency they work for, and they usually get paid by them.
Some home health aides run their own business, and they market to get clients. This can be much harder, but they can set their own rates, so it can be better in pay.
Once you have a client, you will likely work in their home or loved one’s home. You may spend an hour or several hours there.
What the Work Environment Entails
Some considerations on work environment:
- If you are sensitive to pets or smoke, this may be something to ask right away. If you work for an agency, they can place clients with pets or who smoke with those who can deal with it.
- The house may be untidy, unclean, and smell poorly. While this may make you feel uncomfortable, it may be part of your job to clean the house. This means that it may improve over time as you work with your client.
- You may need to change bed sheets, empty bed pans, and give clients a sponge bath. This may make you uncomfortable at first, but most home health aides soon become used to it, and it’s not much a concern.
- You will likely have to deal with the family members of the client, as well as the client. This can make things confusing at times when one person says something different than another says. It’s best to keep communication directed at the client, but be open to hearing from the family members.
The work of a home health aide isn’t always easy, but it is fun at times, and can make you feel really good inside. If you’re looking for a career that will make a difference in other people’s lives, this is it.
Learn more about preparing yourself to become a home health aide by contacting Florida Healthcare Academy. Our program can quickly and easily give you the knowledge and skills needed to provide care to seniors who need it.
