Home Health Care or Not???? (lpn)

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I live in South GA & I was wondering how is the pay for an LPN in a home health care setting. How is the pay & do you get paid by the # of patients you have or hourly? Currently working in geriatrics, looking for something new. I don't know if this will be something totally different but Im also going back to RN school this summer & I thought this would be less stressful/aggravating.....What do u guys think/suggest?????

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You would be driving a lot and going alone into people's houses which often will be incredibly filthy and sometimes lack electricity and running water, if your area is anything like mine was.

You have no idea who will be there or how many. At least you would not have to drive through ice and snow down there.

Paperwork, of course, will still be voluminous.

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Specializes in School Nurse.

Home health can be either a visit to several different homes per day, or hourly (meaning you stay for a whole shift in someones home). I have done both and loved both. I guess I don't keep the neatest home so the conditions never bothered me :) When you spend the whole day with the patient your relationship with the family (my cases were pediatric, but I suppose adult patients might have family memebers too) is key. Its pretty miserable if don't like the family. Salaries are very low - I was making about $10 per hour less than I would have made in a hospital. The agency you work for gets paid by the insurance company or medicaid, and they take a big chunk, then pay you. That said, if you like the family and can take the pay, to me its the ideal nursing job :)

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heh, heh, heidi--you weren't sent to the home with the ten cats to change decubitus dressings on the patient with the cat urine and feces on his bed :(

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Specializes in School Nurse.

Oh, yuck! I guess I should consider myself lucky - usually it just was day old food on the stove and a sink full of dirty dishes :)

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You would be driving a lot and going alone into people's houses which often will be incredibly filthy and sometimes lack electricity and running water, if your area is anything like mine was.

You have no idea who will be there or how many. At least you would not have to drive through ice and snow down there.

Paperwork, of course, will still be voluminous.

exactly, you described it perfectly, I often go to filthy homes and some of them dont have running water. I do a lot of driving and a lot of paperwork at home, Home health is not for everyone.

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Home health is also very rewarding if your someone who likes that you can actually have time to sit and talk with your patient. I always find that the best

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Specializes in Home health was tops, 2nd was L&D.

I love home health. Have been in mansions with servants and provided care outside of a tent and everything in between. Makes it challenging. But my most challenging is when I entered in middle of large drug deal, did wound care, smiled nicely when the gentlemen were introduced by my patient, overlooked the drugs, money and guns all over the table , got my paper signed and smiled as I left. Started shaking in the car and was stopped by police 2 blocks from house, seems they were watching but did not think STOPPING me would be good idea,, might make suspect suspicious!! I was nervous wreck for weeks. read in paper like 4 weeks later about a bust at that home...

I, for one will take cat pee and roaches any day.:)

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Story about the drug bust reminds me of reading in the regional-wide paper about the drug bust of the people where I was sharing an apartment one time when I was in the military. When I found out everyone was a bunch of druggies I discreetly moved out. My boss at work wanted me to turn them in. I said no because I was afraid of retaliation and didn't care to be found in an alley with my throat slit. Six weeks after I moved, their bust made the paper. I considered myself lucky to have extricated myself from that.

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Essence of marijuana in the home can be a possibility. May bother you more than essence of regular cigarettes.

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Thx u guys....I guess ill have to see for myself though....

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Hi EVERYONE !

Please allow me to bring my problem :

Male LPN multi State license, home health geriatric and pediatric care, I want to relocate to Texas or Delaware. I will appreciate any help to land a home care job. (4 years experience).

Thanks

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