A home health aide is responsible for taking care of a patient who’s been disabled in some way – this can include elderly citizens, as well as patients who’re recovering from a serious operation or illness. The tasks of the home health aide can vary a lot from patient to patient, but they generally include helping the patient change their clothes, help them take a bath, as well as assist them in their exercises. The health aide may also cook and clean for the patient, though this isn’t as common. Cooking is actually not so rare, especially in cases of patients who require a specialized diet during their treatment/recovery period.
A high school diploma is enough to get hired as a home health aide, and some employers are even willing to take on candidates before they’ve graduated from high school (though in these cases they’re most often taken as volunteers and receive little to no payment). There are various training courses offered in some places, and having undergone such a course can be of great benefit to a candidate looking to get hired as a home health aide in most cases.
Even though working as a home health aide doesn’t pay that much by itself, it’s most commonly seen as an additional job by most people, and a means to earn a little extra income on the site. The annual salary can vary between $16,000 – $25,000, and one of the good aspects of the job is that it often has some very flexible and well laid out working hours associated with it.