Simi Institute for Careers & Education
Home Health Aide
About
Home health aides help people with disabilities, chronic illness, or cognitive impairment with activities of daily living. They often help older adults who need assistance.
Provides 26 Continuing Education Units for Certified Nurse Assistants. The required information necessary to meet the Department of Health Services mandated content for the Certified Home Health Aide is provided in this course. Upon successful course completion, a list of all candidates eligible for HHA certification is submitted to the California Department of Public Health Services-Home Health Aide Certification Section.
Next cohort will run Summer 2025.
NCCRS Credits: 2
Fee: $495, includes textbook and all classroom supplies.
Prerequisite: Must show proof of active Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license.
A background check may be required for externships, clinicals and licensing, certification or registration with the appropriate governing board.
Job Duties
Home health aides typically do the following:
- Assist clients in their daily personal tasks, such as bathing or dressing
- Provide basic health-related services according to a client’s needs, such as checking vital signs or administering prescribed medication at scheduled times
- Do light housekeeping, such as laundry, washing dishes, and vacuuming in a client’s home
- Help to organize a client’s schedule and plan appointments
- Arrange transportation to doctors’ offices or for other kinds of outings
- Shop for groceries and prepare meals to meet a client’s dietary specifications
- Help to keep clients engaged in their social networks and communities
The work of a home health aide can be physically and emotionally demanding. Aides must guard against back injury because they often move clients into and out of bed or help them to stand or walk. In addition, home health aides frequently work with clients who have cognitive impairments or mental health issues and who may display difficult or violent behaviors. Aides also face hazards from minor infections and exposure to communicable diseases, but can lessen their chance of infection by following proper procedures.
Work Environment
Most work in a client’s home. Some work in small group homes or larger care communities. Some home health aides go to the same home every day or week for months or even years. Other home health aides visit four or five clients in the same day, while others work only with one client all day. They may work with other aides in shifts so that the client always has an aide. They help people in hospices and day services programs, and also help people with disabilities go to work and stay engaged in their communities.
Program Flyer
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Important Qualities To Have
Detail oriented. Home health aides must adhere to specific rules and protocols to help take care of clients. Aides must carefully follow instructions from healthcare professionals, such as how to care for a client’s wound or how to identify changes in a client’s condition.
Integrity. Home health aides should make clients feel comfortable when they tend to personal activities, such as helping a client bathe. In addition, home health aides must be dependable and trustworthy so that clients and their families can rely on them.
Interpersonal skills. Home health aides must work closely with their clients. Sometimes, clients are in extreme pain or distress, and aides must be sensitive to their emotions. Aides must be compassionate, and they must enjoy helping people.
Physical stamina. Home health aides should be comfortable performing physical tasks. They might need to lift or turn clients.
Work Schedule
Most home health aides work full time. They may be required to work evening and weekend hours to attend to their clients’ needs.
NCCRS College Credit Recommendations
More than 1,500 cooperating colleges and universities (including most California Community Colleges and Cal State Universities) will consider granting college credit based on NCCRS credit recommendations. Additional colleges may also award college units for SICE Medical Career Courses.