Home Health Aide

Right at Home • Haverhill, MA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

A Home Health Aide is a trained paraprofessional prepared to assist professional personnel in personal care and home management related to comfort, care, and safety of a client in the home. This role involves assisting with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), encouraging client independence, assisting with prescribed exercises, providing skin care, assisting with transfers, bathing, oral hygiene, hair care, taking vital signs, changing simple dressings, shopping for food and household supplies, meal preparation, maintaining a clean and safe environment, using special equipment, informing supervisors of changes in client condition, accompanying clients outside the home, and reminding clients to take self-administered medications. The Home Health Aide Care Team Member may not perform duties requiring a licensed clinician, administer medications, apply sterile dressings, administer enemas, perform irrigations, perform gastric lavage or tube feeding, apply heat, care for tracheotomy tubes, cut nails, provide transportation for others, give out personal phone numbers, work privately for clients, purchase alcohol or lottery tickets, perform banking services, or jeopardize client, agency, or staff safety.

Requirements

• Willingness to be trained for free.
• Ability to provide necessary information on health status and experience.
• Ability to accept only assignments for which qualified.
• Ability to attend agency orientation.
• Ability to practice safety and competency within the job description.
• Ability to communicate with the agency about problems and concerns.
• Ability to comply with State Federal regulatory acts and agency policies.
• Ability to complete required documentation accurately and on a timely basis.
• Ability to respect and maintain client confidentiality.
• Ability to report concerns of client abuse or neglect.
• Ability to refrain from discussing personal problems, concerns, or opinions with client.
• Ability to establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship with client.
• Ability to supervise Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).
• Ability to encourage client in self-help and optional level of independence or participation in activities.
• Ability to assist and encourage client to follow prescribed exercise program.
• Ability to provide and assist with skin care.
• Ability to assist and guide client in transfer process.
• Ability to assist in giving consumer bath and observe/report changes in skin condition.
• Ability to provide or assist in oral hygiene and hair care.
• Ability to take and record temperature, pulse, and respirations.
• Ability to change simple dressing (non-sterile dressing only) and report changes in wound status.
• Ability to shop for food and household supplies, plan, prepare and serve meals.
• Ability to maintain a clean and safe environment for client.
• Ability to use and maintain special equipment and supplies appropriately.
• Ability to inform supervisor of any changes in client’s condition or family situation.
• Ability to accompany client outside the home when permitted and in the care-plan.
• Ability to remind client to take prescribed medications that are ordinarily self-administered.
• Ability to perform only duties listed on care-plan except when instructed otherwise by Director of Nursing or Supervisor.
• Cannot perform any duties or procedures that require the skill or education of a licensed clinician, or make judgment or give advice on medical or nursing problems.
• Cannot administer, instill, or apply medications.
• Cannot apply sterile dressing application.
• Cannot administer enema or perform dis-impaction.
• Cannot perform any irrigation such as colostomy, urinary catheter, etc.
• Cannot perform gastric lavage or nasogastric tube feeding.
• Cannot apply heat in any form.
• Cannot care for tracheotomy tube.
• Cannot cut toe or fingernails.
• Cannot provide transportation for client’s family, friends or relatives in any vehicle under any circumstances.
• Cannot give out personal telephone numbers to clients.
• Cannot work directly for clients on a private basis.
• Cannot provide or purchase alcoholic beverages or lottery tickets, or perform banking and/or checking services for client or consumer representatives.
• Cannot perform any activity that will jeopardize client, agency or staff.

Nice To Haves

• Possession of a certificate as a caregiver (training provided for those without).

Responsibilities

• Provides necessary information on health status and experience.
• Accepts only assignments for which qualified.
• Attends agency orientation.
• Practices safety and competency within the job description.
• Communicates with the agency about problems and concerns.
• Complies with State Federal regulatory acts and agency policies.
• Completes required documentation accurately and on a timely basis.
• Respects and maintains client confidentiality.
• Reports concerns of client abuse or neglect.
• Refrains from discussing personal problems, concerns, or opinions with client.
• Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with client.
• Supervises Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).
• Encourages client in self-help and optional level of independence or participation in activities.
• Assists and encourages client to follow prescribed exercise program which may include range in motion exercises and ambulation.
• Provides and assists with skin care by turning and positioning client as prescribed, and providing care to pressure point areas (backrubs, foot rubs etc.).
• Assists and guides client in transfer process from bed to chair, commode or other devices.
• Assists in giving consumer bath, whether complete, partial, tub, or shower. Observes and reports changes in skin condition.
• Provides or assists in oral hygiene and hair care.
• Takes records temperature, pulse, and respirations.
• Changes simple dressing (non-sterile dressing only) and reports changes in wound status.
• Shops for food and household supplies. Plans, prepares and serves meals according to dietary instructions.
• Maintains a clean and safe environment for client by performing household services such as cleaning and changing bed linens, cleaning floors with mop and/or vacuuming, cleaning bathroom and kitchen, and laundering and ironing client clothes.
• Uses and maintains special equipment and supplies appropriately.
• Informs supervisor of any changes in client’s condition or family situation.
• Accompanies client outside the home when permitted and in the care-plan.
• Remind client to take prescribed medications that are ordinarily self-administered.
• Performs only duties listed on care-plan except when instructed otherwise by Director of Nursing or Supervisor.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed