Home Health Aide

POSITION: Home Health Aide/Caregiver A Home Health Aide/Caregiver is an individual who provides personal care, home management and other related home health supportive services to an individual to continue living in their home environment when there are disruptions due to illness, disability, social disadvantage, or other problems in the home. QUALIFICATIONS: - Ability to speak, read and write in English sufficiently to understand and interpret the HHA Plan of Care, document care provided on the HHA Time and Activity report and able to call agency to report change and/or issues related to the patient and/or 911 in case of an emergency. - Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out simple one or two-step instructions. Ability to deal with standardized situations with only occasional or no variables. CONTACT: Most frequent contact: Nature or Purpose: Patients/Patient families; Provide care and service. Agency staff (coordinator, nurse) Receive supervision, development of POC. EQUIPMENT OPERATION: Walker, Cane, Crutches, Wheelchair, Commode, Hospital Bed, Hoyer Lift, Household appliances (i.e., vacuum, refrigerator, stove, blender, toaster, etc.) DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES Preparing and serving modified and complex modified diets. Assisting patient with eating, monitors intake. Assisting with bathing of patient - in bed, tub, and shower Assist patient with medicated baths to include prompting, preparing bath water, pouring medication into water, cleaning equipment, storing medication, observing, reporting, and recording. Assisting with grooming, care of hair, including shampoo, shaving with electric razor only, and ordinary care of nails - this means soaking and filing nails. Assisting with care of teeth and mouth. Assisting patient on and off bedpan, commode, and toilet. Assisting patient in transferring from bed to chair, to wheelchair and in walking with or without devices. Assisting patient with dressing Assisting patient with self-administered, oral medications that have been ordered by the medical practitioner. Assist patient with medical equipment, supplies and devices such as: crutches, walkers, braces, prosthetics, wheelchairs, trapeze, footboards/cradles, hospital beds, special mattresses, cushions, pads, slings, elastic support stockings, backrests, transfer/sliding boards, hydraulic life such as a Hoyer, electric lift chair and all types of canes. HHA able to bring equipment to patient, position patient for use of device, put on/put in/ remove and operate braces, splints, prosthetics excluding artificial eyes. Observe, report, record any use of medical equipment, supplies and devices. Able to assemble, equipment, position patient, operate equipment, clean reusable equipment, store. Assist patient with medication nebulizers to include assembling necessary equipment, position patient, place normal saline solution in nebulizer, turn on equipment, time the treatment, make sure patient is using equipment properly, turn off equipment, clean and store reusable equipment, observe, record and report. Assist patient with dressing changes involving clean procedures for stable surface wounds, band-aid, gauze pads with tape and dressings involving clean procedures to include assembling of necessary equipment, position patient, remove wrappings from new dressing, cut tape, remove and dispose of old dressing, clean skin with soap and water, hand requested items to patient, apply new dressing, store unused supplies, observe, record and report. Assist patient with dressing changes involving sterile procedures: assembling of necessary equipment, position patient, cut tape, dispose of old dressing, store unused supplies, observe, record and report. Assisting, as instructed with a home exercise program including passive range of motion, turning and positioning. Reporting any change in patient's mental and physical condition or home situation to the nurse.