Looking for a second career? Home health aides jobs are exploding in growth

July 25, 2012 at 8:41 a.m.


If you want a satisfying second career helping others, bear in mind that home health aides jobs are exploding in growth. With the aging of American society, the job outlook for home health and personal care aides is expected to boom by a whopping 70 percent from now until 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jobs are plentiful for home health aides

Not only will there be plenty of job openings at home health aide agencies, requirements for entry-level jobs are easy to satisfy. You can take home health aide training classes that are short term and be working at jobs that pay an average of $9.70 per hour. No related experience is necessary, and you do not even need to have a high school diploma if you have training. It is expected that the number of job openings is well over a million, with continued high demand in future years.

What are home health aides?

Home health aides take on many roles. They may offer family members who are caring for loved ones at home respite care, a few hours of freedom they so need and deserve to have. Patients who require home health care assistance may be disabled, have Alzheimer's disease, be chronically ill or they may have other impairments. These are people who need assistance with daily basic living duties, such as bathing, dressing, eating and housekeeping. Home health aides may work under the direction of the patient's nurse or another practitioner. With certain training skills, the aides are allowed to give their clients medications or help with physical therapy.

Work setting

Most home health aides go to the patient's home to care for them in familiar surroundings. Others find that a group home or care community is where they will be employed. The health care industry is expanding by leaps and bounds as Americans grow older and need more health care, in and out of their homes. Home care can be far more affordable than institutionalization, and clients often fare better in their home setting.

Easy entry to home health care aide jobs

Home health care aides take home health aide training classes, but they are not required to have any formal training or certain certification for many jobs. If you are working with a certified home health care agency or hospice agency, you will need formal training and also be required to pass a test that is standardized for the industry. Overall, becoming a home health care aide is an excellent second or first career choice.

Content Provided by Spot55.com


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