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	Home Health Aide
	Job description
	Home Health Aides also known as homemakers, provide home making, personal basic health care, and emotional support to elderly, ill, and disabled people in their home.
	Activities may include
	●	help patients with medication
	●	check temperatures, pulse, and respiration
	●	change surgical dressings
	●	help with prescribed exercises
	●	change bedding
	●	assist with the hygienic needs of the patient, i.e. bathing, dressing, grooming
	●	perform light housekeeping tasks such as laundry, cleaning, plan and purchase of food, prepare meals for patients and their family
	●	provide emotional support
	●	maintain records of services and of patient's apparent condition and progress
	●	assist patient in adapting to limitations
	Salaries and benefits*
	Entry wages for Home Health Aides range from minimum wage to about $7.30 per hour. Those with five years of experience may earn up to $8.00 per hour. The maximum pay for Aides with many years of experience is about $12.00 per hour. Supervisors can earn $15.00 per hour or more. Certified Home Health Aides average $9.21 to $11.66 per hour. The average wage for Home Health Aides in Washington State is $6.50 to $9.27 per hour. In the Northwest, healthcare facility workers average $7.58 to $10.44 per hour. Nationally, Home Health Aides average $6.65 to $9.15 per hour. Benefits vary from employer to employer. Employers may provide paid medical, dental and life insurance, retirement plan, and paid vacations and sick leave. Usually, Home Health Aides must provide their own transportation. Employers may pay a mileage allowance.
	Training and requirements
	In the Puget Sound area, Cloverpark and Lake Washington Technical Colleges provide training. Often Home Health Aides receive on-the-job training or may have training as a Nursing Assistant Certified.
	Necessary skills
	●	ability to learn new tasks and make decisions easily
	●	good oral communication
	●	good listening skills
	●	good eye hand coordination
	●	ability to observe and make accurate records
	●	ability to move about freely and to do light to medium lifting
	●	ability to work with a wide diversity of patients
	●	ability to motivate patients to follow prescribed treatment
	●	must be dependable and able to work independently
	Licensure/Certification
	In order to work for a state certified or Medicare approved home health agency, workers must pass a set of competency requirements, including a skills test. Some agencies may require workers to pass the state certification requirements for nursing assistants.
	Helpful high school courses
	Include vocational classes offered at your school that relate to this occupation plus: English, speech, psychology, math, algebra, social studies, general science, biology, health, first aid.
	Colleges/Vocational School in Washington State
	●	Clover Park Technical College 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW Tacoma, WA 98499-4098 (253) 589-5678
	●	Lake Washington Technical College 11605 132nd Ave NE Kirkland, WA 98034-8506 (425) 739-8100 (Certified Nursing Assistant program)
	Outlook*
	In Washington, this occupation is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment is projected to increase 20 percent by 2008, creating 641 job vacancies annually. Currently about 16,697 Home Health Aides work in Washington.
	Professional Associations
	●	American Health Care Association 1201 L St. NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 842-4444 http://www.ahca.org
	●	Home Care Association of Washington P.O. Box 2016 23607 Hwy. 99, Suite 2-C Edmonds, WA 98020-9516 (425) 775-8120 http://www.hcaw.org
	●	National Association for Home Care 228 - 7th Street SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-7424 http://www.nahc.org
	●	Washington Health Care Association 2120 State Ave. NE, Suite 102 Olympia, WA 98506-4762 (360) 352-3304 http://www.whca.org/
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	* Note: General career descriptions are updated as necessary, however salary expectations and projected outlooks have not been updated since 2000. Go to Workforce Explorer Washington and search your career for the most up-to-date salary and job growth expectations. Washington Healthcare Careers and Workforce College are also good resources for job information.

	For additional information, contact your school's career counselor or
WWAHEC 2033 Sixth Avenue, Ste. 310 Seattle, WA 98121 Ph: 206.441.7137 Fax: 206.441.7158	E-mail WWAHEC with a question

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	Page updated 9/15/04