We believe that the majority of people know what typical home health aide duties are, but still, we would like to mention what kind of responsibilities these professionals can have.
Actually, Home Health Aide duties may depend on a client’s needs and requirements so you cannot always be sure what you will need to do.
This means that people who find work as a Home Health Aide (HHA) can expect to provide direct nursing care to their patients, but also, they may be asked to do certain household chores.
Providing company to their patients will be definitely one of their most frequent obligations, as patients often feel isolated due to their condition.
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What Are the Typical Home Health Aide Duties?
The newly opened job opportunities in the USA for home health aides are due to the increasing number of the aging population.
These people are in need of constant care and home health aides are in high demand.
However, their duties have greatly expanded and our aim is to discuss some of the most important ones.
Carrying Out the Doctor’s Orders
The first duty of an HHA is to follow the doctor’s directions.
This means that a home health aide is in charge of administering prescription drugs and oral medications which have to be done according to written instructions from a physician.
Taking care of patients’ medication is very important as they may be taking multiple pills that can be mixed up, so an HHA is supposed to make sure they follow the right schedule.
Also, a home health aide’s task is to help patients with simple physical exercises so that they can adjust to artificial limbs or recover from an injury.
Performing Household Duties
Performing Household Duties is often HHA’s task, as there are situations when the doctor prescribes some kind of diet for the patient, which has to be planned and prepared.
HHA’s duties would be to make sure the patient adheres to the diet.
Housekeeping, changing bed linens, cleaning, and doing laundry are also some of HHA’s obligations, in case clients are not capable of doing these activities.
Personal Care
When personal care is in question, a home health aide may be found helping people reach the toilet and shower.
These tasks are very intimate, as they help patients dress and groom themselves.
Other very interesting activities HHA do are reading books and newspapers to patients, playing games with them, and lead conversation with them to keep them mentally positive.
There are situations when the patient is an injured or disabled person who has small children.
In this case, an HHA is asked to take care of children and explain to them their parent’s condition.
Documenting Their Condition
Home health aides’ responsibility is to visit their patients’ doctor and talk about their condition.
Their duty is to check a patient’s vitals, such as measuring the heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and temperature, as well as keep a record of a client’s condition.
All the possible issues should be discussed with a physician or the patient’s family.
A home health aide is actually a home nurse who helps those in need for all aspects of their life.
