Home health aides provide valuable services for those that need medical care and attention in between periodic visits to their primary healthcare provider. In addition, home health aides assist those with disabilities, short-term and chronic impairments, and short-term and chronic illnesses, as well as people recovering at home following surgical procedures.

Due to the very nature of the responsibilities of home health aides, they often end up overseeing the healthcare needs of their patients to ensure they follow their doctors’ orders. As such, there are many different duties a home health aide could be required to perform, including:

Administering prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Taking the patient’s vital signs and recording them.

Collecting samples for testing.

Educating the patient on proper nutrition.

Helping the patient prepare meals.

Assisting the patient by going with them to doctor’s visits, shopping, and other errands.

Spending time with the patient for various activities, such as going to the park, reading, talking, or playing games.

Assisting the patient with exercises.

Providing basic personal care, such as bathing, dressing, and grooming.

Performing light housekeeping duties.

Replacing sterile dressings and monitoring wound healing.

Assisting the patient in an out of bed and/or transferring to or from a wheelchair.

Helping the patient do laundry.

Keeping accurate records of home visits, including travel time, time with the patient, and what services were performed during the visit.

As you can see, the duties of a home health aide do involve a wide array of medical and healthcare tasks and services, as well as quality of life services.

Aside from the above daily responsibilities, home health aides will interact with other healthcare professionals. They may consult with patients’ doctors, nurses, and medical assistants. Additionally, prior to their daily home visits, they often meet with another healthcare professional to discuss each of their patients’ needs, healthcare requirements, and various services they would like provided.