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Home Health Aides Career Video

Description: Monitor the health status of an individual with disabilities or illness, and address their health-related needs, such as changing bandages, dressing wounds, or administering medication. Work is performed under the direction of offsite or intermittent onsite licensed nursing staff. Provide assistance with routine healthcare tasks or activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, toileting, or ambulation. May also help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry depending on the patient's abilities.

Video Transcript

Home health aides make a major difference in the lives of their clients— providing essential health care that their families may not be able to offer. Home health aides help the elderly… people with disabilities… and those recovering from illness… with basic healthcare tasks such as changing dressings and administering medications. They monitor their clients’ health and report changes in status to licensed nursing staff, who direct their work. Home health aides may also help with routine tasks like feeding, bathing and dressing… and, depending on their clients’ needs, may assist with other personal care such as light housekeeping and meal preparation. Most home health aides work in clients’ homes, but they may also work in small group homes, hospice care, and adult day care facilities. Some home health aides see the same client daily for years, while others work with new clients often. Although there is no formal education requirement, most home health aides have a high school diploma. Jobs in certified home health or hospice agencies require formal training and certification. Additional certification requirements vary from state to state. While this career can be emotionally and physically demanding—clients… and their families… rely on the skills and integrity of home health aides.