By
Lanee’ Blunt
The first step in a new career as a
home health aide is training. “The job prospects are excellent. As the
baby-boom population ages and the elderly population grows the demand for home
health aides to provide assistance and companionship will continue to
increase,” explains the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The training program
prepares you for employment in a home health environment, and hospice care. You
must be a Certified Nursing Assistant to take the state approved training. When you complete your training you can work
as a home health care provider.
Requirements for Entry
You must have a copy of your CNA certificate,
or a copy of your State Exam pass letter. Complete a physical exam form.
Provide TB (PPD) test results.
HHA Training Programs
The Red Cross
The Red Cross has a State approved
course that is 40 hours of training and teaches you how to provide care to
patients in their homes. You will learn how to work with clients and their families,
assists patients, and take care of them and their daily needs, according to The
Red Cross. Then you will receive 26 Continuing Education Units (CEU’s). The
course fulfills the requirement for you to go out and get a job as a Certified
Home Health Aide (CHHA).
Community College
Community colleges offer their own or
an undergraduate class. Of course you may think they only have degree programs,
but some offer certificate programs too. The length of the class may be longer
than other programs because it is usually a semester.
Home Health Aide Agency
If you are a certified nursing
assistant and want to work for an agency there are some that provide training
and can ensure that their aides meet the educational qualifications and are
appropriately registered on the Aide Registry. The training consists of
classroom and supervised nurse training in which they are required to give at
least 16 hours of classroom training before they begin the practical training.
Program Description
The program will be two parts 20 hours
of classroom theory work and 20 hours of supervised clinical training. You will learn how to care for patients personal
hygiene, independently preform medical procedures, including taking blood
pressure, pulse, temperatures and specimens.
This course will teach you how to take care of patients in their home,
and basic nutrition. You will be trained on how to properly make a bed,
housekeeping tasks such as, cooking for clients, and light cleaning. When you
complete the training you will understand what you need to do to take care of a
patient in their home and this is important to them because it gives them their
independence and their dignity.
Reference:
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Home
Health Aides
The Red Cross: Home Health Aide
