What Are Duties of a Home Health Aide?
Home health aide duties include providing routine personal care and basic health care for convalescent or disabled persons in the patients' own homes. Their clients primarily include elderly people and individuals with long-term illnesses and disabilities. Most home health aides are employed by hospitals and health care agencies, although some are self-employed. Although the work is low-paying, employment outlook is excellent because of the aging population (see link in Resources).
Other People Are Reading
-
Personal Care
-
Home health aides help clients with bathing, dressing and grooming. They prepare and serve meals and assist patients with eating, if necessary.
Basic Health Care
-
These aides change bandages or other dressings and apply treatments, such as liniment and alcohol rubs.
-
Medical Care
-
As directed by the supervisory nurse, the home health aide administers prescribed oral medications and checks vital signs of the patient including temperature, pulse and respiration rat, and blood pressure.
Housekeeping
-
They do basic housekeeping duties including changing bed linens, doing laundry and light cleaning.
Socialization
-
Home health aides also provide a social avenue for their clients. They converse and watch television with them and may read aloud.
Record Keeping
-
Home health aides must maintain records of the patient's condition, progress and difficulties to keep case managers informed.
-
