HHA: What Is a Home Health Aide?

What Is a Home Health Aide?

Few careers make a difference in someone’s life like a home health aide (HHA). It is for this reason that the number of employment opportunities is exploding.

Over the course of this decade, the number of HHAsis expected to increase by 1.2 million. This accounts for a 34% increase which is much faster than the national average.

HHAs primarily help the elderly and disabled with their daily tasks. However, their tasking goes well beyond this and they are integral to a patient’s overall health.

Read on to answer the question, what is a home health aide? Explore topics such as home health aide duties and cost.

What Is a Home Health Aide?

There are many people living around the world that cannot perform daily activities without help. These individuals have physical or mental limitations and require a helping hand.

When family members are stretched too thin, they often turn to an HHA for assistance. An HHA is a paid health care worker. They work in patients’ homes or a medical setting. HHAs are brought in to help.

They perform a wide range of duties for their patients. For severely limited patients, HHAs help them get dressed or bathe them.

HHAs also help with general housekeeping duties. Patients who are physically limited cannot keep their houses sanitary. They rely on HHAs to vacuum, dust, and do laundry.

Additionally, HHAs extend their service beyond the patient’s residence when necessary. They are responsible for transporting wheelchair-bound patients.

They provide transportation to doctor’s appointments. Also, HHAs do shopping and bring their patients to social outings.

How to Become an HHA?

The road to becoming an HHA is not overly difficult. Typically, a high school diploma or GED is necessary for the education requirements.

Depending on the state you are operating in, licensure or professional certification may be required. You should check with your state’s Board of Health to determine this.

Licensure or professional certification usually involves the completion of a short training course. You may need to take an exam in order to meet the state’s requirements.

The good news is that HHA training is short and affordable. You do not need to take on a large amount of student loan debt to become an HHA.

Many companies that employ HHAs implement on-the-job training to help get their employees acclimated. They may ask new employees to shadow a nurse or senior HHA. This way, they can see what it takes to care for a patient and learn more about their responsibilities.

There are common skills that successful HHAs possess. Compassion and interpersonal skills are two critical skills. They allow you to build trust with patients and their families.

Integrity is another trait required by HHAs. Patients allow you into their homes and any signs of theft or elder abuse are not tolerated.

What Are the Key Takeaways for HHAs?

HHAs are a critical part of our society. They care for the elderly and disabled by helping them accomplish daily tasks. A college education is not required, but many states require training and licensing.

Compassion and interpersonal skills are crucial for HHAs. If you enjoyed this article about what is a home health aide, check out our blog for more great content.

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