What Does a Home Health Aide Do? Key Duties & Responsibilities

Working in home care is a unique experience compared to other health care environments: you have the opportunity to assist individuals in the comfort of their own homes. You enter the personal space of someone who requires your support. While some clients may present challenges and the work can be demanding, it’s important to remember that you are consistently making a positive impact in someone else's life—and that is the greatest reward of all.

What does an HHA do?

A home health aide (HHA) plays a crucial role in helping individuals maintain their independence at home by providing assistance with daily living activities, among other tasks. This work is both fulfilling and essential. Not only do you enable someone to remain in their preferred environment, but home health care is also more cost-effective, as it is customized to meet the specific needs of each person.

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The nature of the work is so diverse that there’s no such thing as a “typical week” for a home health aide. HHA shifts can vary in length; you might work as little as two hours if you choose, but there are also standard eight-hour shifts and even live-in arrangements, depending on what the client requires. The duration of care needed by a client can range from a few weeks to several years or more. Home health aides often work with a wide range of individuals, though the majority of clients tend to be older adults.

Home health aides have a significant impact when they are in the home. Whether it’s providing family caregivers with a much-needed break, supporting a client through a challenging recovery, or building meaningful relationships, as an HHA, you are making a substantial difference in people’s lives every day.

Home health aide duties

Home health aides assist individuals with activities of daily living (ADLs). Let’s take a closer look at the three primary responsibilities of a home health aide:

• Assistance with personal care
• Light housekeeping
• Companionship.

Personal care assistance

85% of seniors prefer to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, but many require help with daily tasks to achieve this. As a home health aide, you play a crucial role in enabling seniors to live in the environments where they feel happiest and most at ease.

In many situations, you provide the essential support that families need to ensure their aging loved ones can stay safe and independent at home. For individuals who struggle with personal care tasks like bathing and dressing, your assistance as a home health aide is invaluable.

Bathing, grooming, using the toilet, and dressing

Throughout your training as a home health aide, you will acquire various skills to assist with all aspects of personal care for your clients. When it comes to bathing, dressing, and toileting, you may be working with someone who has difficulty walking, which may require you to help transfer them to a wheelchair or assist them in walking with a cane or walker. If they are unable to walk at all, you might need to use a mechanical lift to assist in their movement. Supporting someone in standing, walking, bathing, and dressing can be physically demanding, highlighting the importance of your role.

There may be times when clients cannot get out of bed, which is why home health aides are trained to provide sponge baths and hair care while the client is in bed. For those with limited mobility, it’s also essential for an HHA to perform range of motion exercises if prescribed by a physician. Moving and repositioning a patient using a draw sheet is a valuable skill to help prevent bed sores and skin issues, along with regular skin care.

Grooming can become quite challenging, as it requires precise and steady movements that your client may no longer be able to manage. You can expect to assist your clients with shaving, brushing or styling their hair, applying makeup, cleaning and filing nails, getting dressed, and providing mouth and denture care, among other tasks.

Meal planning and preparation

Your client might be unable to cook due to various reasons, such as being paralyzed from the waist down, having arthritis that prevents them from chopping food, or dealing with dementia, which can make cooking unsafe. There are numerous reasons why a client may struggle to prepare meals for themselves. Having a home health aide assist in the kitchen ensures that clients can remain safe while enjoying a healthy and varied diet.

Medication reminders and picking up prescriptions

A caregiver in the home is the best ally a physician can have, as they can observe the patient in their daily surroundings. It's crucial to ensure that someone is adhering to their medication schedule and not missing doses, as patients can easily feel overwhelmed by the number of medications they need to take. For clients who can no longer drive, helping to pick up prescriptions alleviates some of the burden from family members as well.

Housekeeping

Maintaining a clean and livable home can be daunting for someone who is struggling to care for themselves safely.

If you've ever been injured or unwell at home, you understand how challenging it can be to keep up with daily housekeeping tasks. As a home health aide, you offer clients the peace of mind that these tasks will be managed even when they are unable to do so.

Your assistance can significantly reduce the stress that family members may be experiencing. By taking over many of the everyday responsibilities, families can relax and focus on spending quality time with their loved ones.

Companionship

Studies have found that social relationships are crucial for both mental and physical well-being. This is particularly important for older clients, who may experience feelings of isolation from their loved ones. Studies reveal that social isolation can significantly heighten the risk of premature death; it is linked to a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, and a 50% increased risk of dementia.

By providing care with compassion, excellence, and reliability, you not only assist your client but also enhance your own health. Helping others can lower your blood pressure, alleviate stress, and help you discover meaning and purpose in your life. An added perk of being a home health aide is that you get paid to bring joy to others!

Rewards of working as a home health aide

Working closely with a client in their home allows you to forge a strong and meaningful bond with each individual you assist. Beyond your responsibilities as a home health aide, such as personal care and housekeeping, you can take the time to listen to your client’s stories from their youth, share a laugh over a joke you both enjoy, or listen to music that evokes happy memories for them.

A career in home care not only offers you a fulfilling and valuable profession but also provides the flexibility of a schedule and a position in one of the fastest-growing fields in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of jobs for home health aides will rise by 41% by 2026, ensuring ample opportunities for continued employment.

Becoming a home health aide allows you to engage in meaningful work that contributes positively to the world. Now, that’s a powerful job description!