Home Health Aide Nurse Home

¶ … Home Health Aide Nurse

Home health aides are trained healthcare workers who have the responsibility of helping elderly, convalescent, or disabled persons live in their own homes instead of in a health care facility. There is no one step-by-step manual of prescribed care that will be appropriate for every patient, as much of the care is heavily individualized and suited to the patient's needs. However, there are certain basic steps to keep in mind when performing the work of a home health aide.

Usually, the aide will visit the patient at his or her residence. Depending on the nature of the patient's illness, after greeting the patient, the aide will usually check the patient's vital signs, such as the patient's pulse rate, temperature, blood sugar, blood pressure, and respiration rate. The aide will also engage in small talk with the patient to help the patient feel more comfortable at this time. This chatter gives the aide a chance to get a sense of how, psychologically, the patient has been fairing since he or she was last seen by the aide ("Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home Health Aides," U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007).

After assessing the patient's physical and psychological condition, the aide will then help the patient perform simple prescribed exercises, like getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, or simple acts of physical therapy. The aide will first attend to acts of daily care that are necessary to the patient's immediate comfort, like emptying a bed pan, or treating bed sores, then move onto regular acts of assisted self-care and physical therapy. If a family member is present, the aide may ask the person his or her opinion about how the patient has been doing, any medical appointments he or she may have had, and any changes to the patient's prescribed plan of care.

An aide will also keep patients' rooms neat. This will include insuring that the patient's medications are available and clearly labeled. Cleaning the room is a good time to check with the patient to make sure that the patient has been taking the necessary medications and precautions regarding his or her condition, such as not getting out of bed too quickly. Depending on the patient's condition, the aide may also change the dressings on the patient's wounds, give a massage to the patient or an alcohol rub, or assist with the patient's braces and artificial limbs. "Experienced home health aides also may assist with medical equipment such as ventilators, which help patients breathe" ("Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home Health Aides," U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007).

The aide may also make a simple meal for the patient, keeping within the patient's prescribed diet that is still (hopefully) palatable to the patient. An aide will have a good sense of the patient's likes and dislikes. If the patient needs groceries and can be left unattended, the aide may go and do the patient's shopping. The aide may also purchase other basic necessities and medications, if the patient desires, or even do simple errands like post a letter.