If You Won't Do It, Someone Else Will

Our elderly population deserves the same care as the world's children. We can learn so much from those who are generations behind us in age. The elderly have cared for us, taught us the importance of life, fought for our freedom, and showed us nothing but love. Isn't it important to return the favor? Now it is time to show others how we can assist in helping our elderly population by taking care of them the way they did for us in the past. I have chosen to do an interview with a Home Health Aide and provide some supplemental information discussed first on this particular field of interest. My hopes here are to show others the benefits and disadvantages to being a Home Health Aide. This may even help others to understand if this type of field would be the right career choice. Enjoy.

Duties of a Home Health Aide

Home Health Aides have duties that are similar to Nursing Aides. Nursing Aides help care for physically or mentally ill, injured, disabled, or infirm individuals confined to hospitals, nursing care facilities, and mental health settings. The difference between Nursing Aides and Home Health Aides is that Home Health Aides work in patients' homes or residential care facilities. Home health aides help elderly, convalescent, or disabled persons live in their own homes instead of in a health care facility. Under the direction of nursing or medical staff, they provide health-related services, such as administering oral medications.

Like nursing aides, home health aides may check patients' pulse rate, temperature, and respiration rate; help with simple prescribed exercises; keep patients' rooms neat; and help patients to move from bed, bathe, dress, and groom. Occasionally, they change non-sterile dressings, give massages and alcohol rubs, or assist with braces and artificial limbs. Experienced home health aides also may assist with medical equipment such as ventilators, which help patients breathe.