Home health aide jobs can be very rewarding. There are pros and cons to working this job. If you are a people-person and you enjoy caring for and nurturing others, this job will be great for you.
The duties of home health aides vary depending on whom they work for. Some patients are completely immobile and require constant care. Others can do a few things for themselves and only require some assistance and supervision. Still others only require home health aides to administer medication and cook meals.
Home health aides primarily help the ill, disabled, and the cognitively impaired. They may care for youth, adults, or the elderly. Typically these people travel to the person's home and care for them there.
Home health aides assist with activities of dialing living, or ADLs. ADLs are defined as "the things we normally do...such as feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, and leisure." While basic categories of ADLs have been suggested, what specifically constitutes a particular ADL in a particular environment for a particular person may vary.
The most common ADLs are personal hygiene and grooming, dressing and undressing, bathing, feeding, brushing teeth, functional transfers, bowel and bladder management, and ambulation.
Other ADLs that a home health aide may do include light housework, cooking, cleaning, administering medications, managing money, shopping for groceries, telephone usage, using technology, transporting patient to and from appointments, care of pets, health management, and community mobility.
The home health aide may purchase household supplies and run errands. They accompany the patient to doctor's appointments, administer medication, and bathe, dress, and feed the patient.
They apply ointments, dressings, and bandages, wrap the person for warmth, comb hair, shave, clip toenails, clean ears, gently wash the feet, apply warm and cold compresses.
The home health aide massages patients and applies liniment, rubs, and heat lamps to sore muscles. They attempt to keep the skin intact and prevent ulcerations and a breakdown of the skin.
Ambulating is an important part of their duties. The patient, if able, should get up from their bed or wheelchair and walk around. The home health aide may use a transfer belt to prevent injuries and to assist them to walk from one area to another.
The home health aide must also maintain meticulous records. Fluid intake and output, what the patient ate, medicines taken, and how long the patient slept should be recorded in a daily log of activities. When the doctor checks on the patient, these records will be an important record.
The aide must also purchase, plan, and serve meals if asked. This includes following all nutritional guidelines given by the doctor, especially if the person has diabetes or food allergies. Nutritious meals should be prepared and given in small bites to the patient so they can easily chew and swallow.
Simple range of motion exercises keep the patient's blood pumping and muscle tone. The home health aide will gently adduct limbs from the body and pay attention to signs of pain. They perform these exercises on the arms and legs on a regular basis.
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