Home Health Aide Training / HHA
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
ISAH training program will prepare all certified students with the skills to perform the duties and functions of and Home Health Aide. Home health aides provide personal and homemaking services to elderly, convalescent, and disabled persons. They usually perform their services in the patients’ home. Some duties that are performed by home health aides include checking pulse and respiration rates, helping with prescribed exercises, providing emotional and psychological support, and reminding clients to take their medications. They are required to maintain accurate and up-to-date records of services provided and the progress of the patient. Home health aides may also be called upon to assist with activities of daily living, which include helping patients in and out of bed, getting them dressed and undressed, assisting with personal hygiene, purchasing and preparing meals, changing bed linens, and other household chores. Most home health aides work with elderly and disabled patients, who require more help than family and friends can provide. Specific assignments and duties are usually given by a Home Health Agency, a Registered Nurse, Physical Therapist, or Social Worker. Some home health aides may work with one patient for months or years, but the majority of aides work with several patients at any given time. Individuals in the profession often perform unpleasant duties, such as emptying bedpans and changing soiled linens, but most aides gain a great deal of satisfaction from helping people in need. In home health agencies, a registered nurse, physical therapist, or social worker usually assigns specific duties to a supervised home health aide, who keeps records of the services they perform and record each patient’s condition and progress. The aides report changes in a patient’s condition to the supervisor or case manager.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
ISAH Home Health Aide Training Program Curriculum is the District of Columbia Board of Nursing approved curriculum for HHA Training Certification. The curriculum comprises:
- 65 hours of classroom instruction
- 20 hours of lab work
- 40 hours of on site clinical applications
- 125 hours minimum total hours
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Employment opportunities for home health aides are expected to grow faster than the average for all other occupations. Over the next eight years, job openings will increase by 20%-30%. As the baby-boom generation becomes increasingly older, demand for home health personnel will skyrocket. Another reason for the rise in employment opportunities is that hospitals and nursing homes are trying to keep costs down by moving patients out of those primary care facilities and into their own homes. Consumer preference for care in the home is another reason for the rapid growth in this sector.
Program Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the roles and responsibilities of the Home Health Aide.
- Develop effective communication skills.
- Identify ethical and legal issues affecting the home health aide.
- Identify needs of a homebound client.
- Assist with personal hygiene and environment care.
- Assist with nutrition and dietary management.
- Remind client to take medications.
- Differentiate the different body systems.
- Describe proper infection control procedures.
- Recognize and respond to basic emergencies and summon advanced care.
- Maintain a safe environment.
- Be able to identify appropriate skills for home care.
- Describe how to present him/her in a professional manner during employment interviews.
- Be familiar with situations, which may be encountered and which need to be reported to proper authorities.
- Demonstrate respect for diversity.
For enrollment inquiries into our Home Health Aide Training Course, please give us a call at 240-304-6890.
