Facts about Home Health Aide skills you need to know

Having a normal life could be difficult for the elderly and the disabled. Nobody wants to be alone in tough moments of life but how to deal with the difficulties? Home health Aides (HHA) get trained to fill your lonely times, taking care of all the needs you might have at home.

This blog introduces the pros of hiring a Home health aide by enumerating the qualifications, challenges, and responsibilities.

 

Home health aide responsibilities

Home health aides help seniors to live in their place of residence when their family is not around. They may get involved in some daily activities to facilitate your work. According to AARP, 87 percent of the elderly tend to stay at their own homes due to their age. The source says that 71 percent of people between 50 to 64 want the same thing. Hiring a home health aide has the following benefits:

• Home care and medical service 
• Reasonable price 
• Wide range of services

Home health aide have to provide some facilities for their patients. These include:

 

Personal care

It’s normal for a senior to have difficulties with walking. In this case, the home health aide will give you a hand to get to your chores. Bathing, groping, toileting, and housekeeping are the chores the elderly might need help with. If you cannot walk, the home health aide will transfer you to your wheelchair or help you walk with a walker or cane.

Home health aide can help the patient move with the mechanical lifts if needed. If you or your loved ones cannot walk anymore, this device will easily get transferred. The elderly might have difficulty getting out of bed as well.

Home health aides have passed some courses about sponge bathing and hair care in bed. If a doctor has prescribed a kind of motion for the patient, the home health aide can move and position the patient with a draw sheet placed under them. It will prevent the patient from getting bed sores or skin breakdown.

The aides also provide you with grooming services. These services include:

• Shaving
• Brushing
• Hairstyling
• Make-up applying
• Cleaning nails
• Getting dressed
• Tooth brushing

 

Meal preparation

There are too many reasons for a senior to be unable to cook. Dementia and arthritis are some examples that do not allow your loved ones to cook. Healthy food is crucial for the elderly, especially the ones with diabetes. Unhealthy food may cause irreversible consequences. Plus, they might not eat enough, as they have mobility problems.

The aides will make sure your loved one gets every vitamin and nutrition they need at the right time.

 

Medication reminding

Home health aide receive particular training in medical management. They schedule every single medication and take the prescription for seniors. As taking numerous medications can be overwhelming for your loved one, you can trust the home health aide to assure the senior takes it. What if the elderly don’t get his/her insulin injection on time?

 

Housekeeping

It may be difficult for you or your loved one to do the house chores. Laundry, mopping, running errands, and washing dishes take a lot of time. You may be busy doing all of them in 24 hours. 

You can ensure a skilled nurse is at home taking care of everything. The home health aide can make the house lively. The seniors can feel life and receive positive energy. 

 

Companionship

According to a 2010 study by Debra Umberson, interaction is vital to mental and physical health. Companionship is crucial, especially for seniors who live alone and may feel isolated and left alone. Isolation can increase the risk of:

• Death
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Dementia

The aides are fully willing to talk with the elderly about different stuff and make their lives more tolerable.

 

The hard thing about home health aides

All of the occupations have some challenges, and home health aide is no exception. Some home health obstacles include:

 

Displeased patients

Some patients are accustomed to living alone. Therefore, when they find somebody doing their deeds, they become afraid and feel insecure. If any mistakes occur, they feel violated, and they try to get away from the aide as much as they can. It is a home health aide’s responsibility to gain their trust and try to get on well.

 

Hazardous situation

Home health aide’s safety matters too. Some houses may be untidy and damaged in some ways. Even sick pets and damaged equipment can put the aide’s safety in danger. Sometimes, annoying neighbors or even the patient’s family can jeopardize the aide, if they have diseases like HIV.

 

Incompetent medical equipment

All the disposal solutions are prepared for the aides if they are injured with a middle stick or have fallen off. Although when they accept the job, they are aware of jeopardies.

 

Poor support

All the nurses need access to a robust support network. It can help them in challenging times. Some home healthcare facilities do not provide critical conditions. As a result, the aide will feel insecure and scared.

 

Home health aide qualifications

Education

Some documents and degrees are required to qualify as a home health aide. The applicants must have reached a high school diploma to get permission to be trained in the aide training course.

 

Communication

The aide should be a clear speaker and a good listener at the same time. Three reasons obligate them to communicate well:

1. They should interact with the patient compassionately so that both sides won’t feel bored or shy.
2. They should interact with the family members and make them aware of the condition by keeping them up-to-date. Sometimes it may be complicated to inform the family about the patient’s health.
3. They often need to talk with a doctor to listen carefully and remember every tiny detail. They should also be a clear speaker to tell the doctor all the patient’s physical and mental situations.

 

Flexibility

The patients are often unable to move correctly, so the aide shall do all the personal and household chores. That’s why they should be flexible and open-minded to be able to do every small deed and should not nag about it.

 

Medical knowledge

The majority of patients need to take particular medications. The home health aide must provide the prior medical requirements. If any other medical care is required, they should inform the doctor quickly. Home health aide services in terms of medical knowledge include:

• Checking vital signs
• Changing wound dressings
• Attending doctor appointments with the patient
• Dementia care
• Learning pharmaceutical and medical terms
• Taking pulse, temperature, blood pressure, and respiration

 

Patience

Some patients may be tough to communicate with. People who have dementia are an example.

The aide should be patient enough to deal with the situation and treat them with persistence and collaboration.

 

Physical stamina

As we have mentioned, some of the seniors are unable to move. It might make the aide move them with some equipment or hardly ever with bare hands. They should be tough enough to cope with it and to move the patient safely.

 

Time management

The aide should have discipline and be organized all the time. As they should prepare meals, clean the house and take care of the patient simultaneously, they should be on time. Taking the medications at the proper time is necessary for the elderly, especially if they have chronic diseases like dementia.

 

Precision in details

The aide should be conscious all the time so that the patient won’t take any dangerous actions. They also should care about the patient, not equivocating the medicines.

 

Compassion and sympathy

If the aide does not like this occupation or gets mad all the time, that would cause problems for both sides. The official must recognize all the behavioral disorders in the aides and hire the kind, caring ones.

 

Positivity

All the people who suffer from an illness need hope. The more their acquaintances give them hope and make positive vibes, the better they will get. The aides would better smile all the time and behave well.

 

Home health aide near me in Las Vegas

By home health services, you don’t need to go to nursing homes. It brings about the possibility of keeping your loved one in the place of residence, assuring they receive the help and attention they need. 

The article explained how home health aides can help taking care of the elderly, the challenges they face, and what responsibilities they hold. 

In case you need home health aides in Las Vegas, Health & Care Professional Network has been serving in Las Vegas since 2006. We have provided a wide range of services to the elderly and the disabled. Give us a call at (702) 871-9917 for further information or get a home health aide serving your needs. Your beloved ones deserve special care and service.