Home Is Where Your Health Is: Home Health Aides
Home-administered healthcare is growing in popularity both among senior citizens and as an industry. Let’s take a look at home health aides, including some fast stats about the career and required training information.
Job Description
Home health aides provide personal hygiene care and housekeeping for in-home patients. Other duties include: (1)
- Preparing and serving individual diets
- Toileting assistance
- Patient transfer and ambulation
- Providing skincare, particularly to bedridden patients
- Catheter and oxygen equipment handling/use
- Medication dispensing
Qualifications: Must be 18 years of age and hold a valid HHA certificate, which is earned through a training program. No college degree necessary.(1)
Training Requirements by State
120+ hours
Alaska
California
Idaho
Wisconsin
Illinois
Maine
76-119 hours
Washington
Montana
Wyoming
Kansas
Maryland
New Jersey
Rhode Island
New Hampshire
Vermont
Hawaii
75 hours
Oregon
Nevada
Arizona
Utah
Colorado
New Mexico
Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Louisiana
Arkansas
Missouri
Iowa
Minnesota
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia
Florida
South Carolina
North Carolina
Tennessee
Kentucky
Indiana
Michigan
Virginia
West Virginia
Ohio
Delaware
Pennsylvania
New York
Connecticut
Massachusetts
By the Numbers
$20,820
Median annual salary of a home health aide(3)
48%
Job growth outlook for 2012–2022, much faster than the average 11% (3)
91%
Percentage of employed home health aides who are female(2)
56%
Percentage of home health aides who work only part-time in the field(2)
58%
Percentage of home health aides who are educated at a high school level or less(2)
73%
Percentage of national home healthcare expenses that are paid by taxpayers. That makes it a $42.5 billion industry.(2)
Looking Toward the Future
The expected job growth for home health aides is high because there is and will continue to be a definite shortage as the Baby Boomer population grows older.
14.1%
Percentage of the U.S. population who are 65 older. That’s about 44.6 million people.(4)
1.5 million
Current number of patients who require home healthcare services(5)
315 days
Average length of service needed per patient(5)
806,710
Number of employed home healthcare workers in 2013(3)
Sources:
1. http://www.aayhc.org
2. http://phinational.org
3. http://www.bls.gov
4. http://quickfacts.census.gov
5. http://www.cdc.gov
