Home health aides and personal care aides help people who are disabled, chronically ill, or cognitively impaired, as well as elder adults who need assistance with activities of daily living. Responsible for help with bathing, dressing, grooming, and light housekeeping, HHAs are companions to those who need it most.
There is no formal education needed for home health and personal care aides. However, when working with a home health care agency, you will need some formal training. As an HHA, you will be able to work in a variety of settings, but there are five reasons working as a personal aide in home health care is a particularly great choice.
1. You become a hero on the home front.
Caregiving is demanding work, a labor of love, and a lot of labor. For many, the demands of caregiving may be too much to bear. Balancing a full-time job or children, in addition to the time spent caring for a loved one is challenging. Sometimes it takes more than one caretaker can give.
As a home health aide, you come to the rescue, becoming a hero to your clients and their families! You give the family peace of mind, providing tender, loving, and compassionate care when the family is unable to do so themselves.
2. Your presence truly matters to a family in need.
When you enter a client’s home, you enter their lives. This can be a challenging process for some families. As an HHA, your compassionate spirit will help you break down barriers to truly get to know your clients. Working in their home gives you a unique perspective to caregiving.
Taking an interest in their lives, such as learning their favorite hobbies or least favorite foods, helps you fulfill your clients' needs. Soon, your clients will look forward to your visits because your presence makes a positive impact on their lives.
3. You change people’s lives.
A home health aide cares for more than just their client. Those in need have families and communities supporting them as well. Becoming their HHA means you become part of that world.
You are responsible for your client’s well-being and for being a reliable presence in their life. It is your job to be the constant, unwavering professional your client, and their family, can trust. This professionalism, coupled with your unique skills, makes you a life-changing force.
4. You’re an important part of the healing process.
Each client's diagnosis may vary and the home health aide is there to provide consistent care, in every situation. You are there to keep your client content, with an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on.
Home health aides show the world every day that it’s important to be kind, loving, and strong. You can work alongside those who provide skilled care to add the personal touch and emotional support a person needs to heal.
Along with your compassion, excellence, and reliability, you are a sense of normalcy, during what can be a very difficult time. As an HHA, you have the power to bring health and happiness into a person’s life.
5. You are uniquely you!
We are all different and we all have something unique to offer. Your personality and individual talents are what make the home health care experience a memorable and positive one.
You can teach your clients something new and learn something new from them. Being a home health aide gives you an amazing opportunity to see the world through different eyes. When you work as an HHA, you become a teacher, a healer, and a source of strength.