thinking about doing home health. what should i know?

caliotter3 · Apr 22, 2010

You do some of the same tasks but only for one patient. There may be more four hour shifts or you may go to a home for two hours only to give a bath. You may be expected to see up to five or six patients a day for about one hour each. This can be stressful especially when you add in the travel time. It is easier to only work the four, six, or eight hour shift cases. Your pay should be about the same as for a LTC facility.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2010

Yea it varies. One of the hospice aides that comes to my job sees about 6 people in one day. That's sorta stressful if you ask me..not to mention all the driving!

teysmith · Apr 23, 2010

thanks for your responses. Hoping to hear from others as well.

justme01 · Apr 23, 2010

Drive, bath, sign off, drive, bath, sign off,..... Tried it one day. NOT FOR ME!

Restoration · Apr 23, 2010

You are assigned a case and in that home for couple hours each day. You only care for that one client.

teysmith · Apr 24, 2010

thanks. more replies please :)

mattiemiranda · Apr 24, 2010

I've been doing home health care for several years. It really depends on the client/patient. Sometimes you will only spend a few hours at a patient's house or you might have a patient that needs someone to be there for 8 or 12 hours daily. It's a great job if you like working on your own and not having someone standing over you all of the time. It can be stressful at times especially if you have a difficult patient. The main responsibilities that you might have to do are baths, cooking, cleaning, and assisting with transferring from one place to another. You might also have to remind a patient to take their meds. There are also medical things that you may have to deal with such as colostomy bags, catheters, etc. I enjoy it because I like not having a supervisor standing next to me all of the time and the pay where I work is decent. I hope this helps! :)

teysmith · Apr 26, 2010

I've been doing home health care for several years. It really depends on the client/patient. Sometimes you will only spend a few hours at a patient's house or you might have a patient that needs someone to be there for 8 or 12 hours daily. It's a great job if you like working on your own and not having someone standing over you all of the time. It can be stressful at times especially if you have a difficult patient. The main responsibilities that you might have to do are baths, cooking, cleaning, and assisting with transferring from one place to another. You might also have to remind a patient to take their meds. There are also medical things that you may have to deal with such as colostomy bags, catheters, etc. I enjoy it because I like not having a supervisor standing next to me all of the time and the pay where I work is decent. I hope this helps! :)

Thanks very much!

annacnatorn · Apr 28, 2010

Well, I've been in the Home Health industry for 7 years now. With the exception of the driving, I love it. I have to tend to only 1 patient at a time, I have no one watching over me, I am on my own. I report changes as I see them and work closely with the RN/LVN. Sometimes I am only there for 30 minutes, other times I am there for 24 hours. I do mainly Hospice, which I love. You get to bond with the Patients and Family members. You get respect from them as well. You are not hussled and pushed on a daily routine basis. I have seen as many as 10 patients in a day, but that is a rarity. If you are able to plan your route to be in the same general direction or work in a line drive sort of thing, then you will do fine with your time and gas mileage. Sometimes my days start super early, sometimes they end super late, when you are with Hospice, when one of your Patients starts to decline, you are there, sometimes for the long haul, so keep water n snack food in your car just in case, oh yah, keep personal hygiene items for your self in there as well, you might need them from time to time.

I hope this help you in your new area. I hope you love it as I have. The pay in California is quite good. :)

muffinCNA15 · Apr 29, 2010

how is the pay in CA? i live in the bay area.

i am a CNA, i work as a home care aide. thinking about taking the HHA course, i'd like to work for sutter hospice or a private home health agency.