Home Health Care Basics
Home health care nursing is a growing industry, with a large number of patients and their families opting for home-based health care. Today there are specific academic programs to train nurses in home care. There are also a number of agencies that place home health care nurses in the appropriate environment with ailing individuals and their families. These agencies match criteria such as the nurse’s experience and qualifications, the patient’s care requirements, budget and the location of the patient and the nurse.
There is a growing need for Home Care Nurses because:
*Medicare, Medicaid and Long Term Care insurance reimbursement and documentation have changed treatment methods
*Aging baby-boomers are now in large numbers
*Changes in technology and medical care in hospitals have brought about a significant change, with shorter inpatient stay and more cases of at-home rehabilitation.
*Increasing medical outpatient procedures, with follow-up home care
*Advances in technology and medical care that have decreased mortality rates but increased morbidity and chronic illness.
The job of a Home Health Care Nurse calls for an array of skills and experience. Specializations include a wide range of treatments including emotional support, educating patients on the road to recovery from illness or injury to women who have experienced childbirth. Special care is also needed for ailing children and the elderly who need palliative care for chronic illnesses.
A practicing nurse must be able to adjust to the unique home setting of each patient. They must have good interpersonal skills to deal with the patient on the one hand and the patient’s family or support structure on the other. The nurse should be experienced and confident enough to make quick autonomous decisions, without the support structure that is available at a hospital or nursing home.
Children with disabilities, be they genetic, congenital or caused by an injury, present a separate set of challenges to a nurse. They require additional skills such as patience and understanding of the needs of the family. Progress in the medical field is not only increasing the lifespan of these children, but is also allowing them to live comparatively independent lives away from the hospital. In this area, a positive attitude and positive reinforcement is of prime importance for the development of the child.
Experienced nurses are familiar with medication procedures and have completed graduate level programs. Most agencies require that these nurses have at least one year of clinical experience prior to working in home health care. Advanced practicing nurses can expedite that training by helping new nurses understand the home health care market and teaching.
Employment And Salary
In the United States, according to the Department of Labor, there were 2.4 million nurses in America, and many in the medical fraternity believe there is a gross shortage in nursing staff. The shortage is expected to grow to 10% in 2010. The average salaries for nurses in the US are:
*$53,450 for hospital nursing
*$49,000 for home care
*$48,200 for nursing care facilities
Training And Continuing Education
Home health care nurses require:
*Associate degree in nursing (ADN), takes 2-3 years to complete
*Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN), takes 4 years to complete. This course allows nurses to pursue advancement into administrative positions or research, consulting, and teaching. It is also essential to become a clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner (U.S. Department of Labor, 2004).
*Master’s degree in nursing (MSN), with a minimum of two years post-clinical experience for advanced nursing
*All nurses need to have supervised clinical experience during their training
Nurses can also earn specialized professional certificates online in Geriatric Care or Life Care Planning.
All nurses, whether they are working at a hospital, nursing facility, or in home care, need to have continuing education. With constant advances in medicine and the changing face of health care staying abreast with the latest developments enhances patient care and health procedures. Continuing education is offered by universities, continuing education programs, and internet sites. The American Nurses Association (ANA) or the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is a popular avenue for continuing education.
The career of a home health care nurse is rewarding. Advances in medicine and decreasing mortality and increasing morbidity bring new challenges and opportunities. It provides an opportunity to make a difference one life at a time. Proper education combined with clinical experience will make the home health care nurse an important cog in the wheel of medical care of tomorrow.
Watch the video related to home health
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Help answer the question about home health
What do home health aids do during night shift?If you're at a person's home… what could you do besides check on them every hour or so? Do the other aids do laundry and dishes and etc. during the daytime hours? I've been a CNA for three years in a nursing home but I'm starting to look into doing home health care and I have seen ads for overnight stays. Thanks!
The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.
I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.
Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.
Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:
* Pocket Guide to Home Health Care by Karen McGough Monks
* Handbook of Home Health Standards and Documentation — Guidelines for Reimbursement by T. M. Marrelli
* Handbook of Home Health Orientation by T. M. Marrelli
* Manual of Home Health Nursing Procedures by Robyn Rice
There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.
Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
No. You have to have legitimate credentials by doing to school. A CDA is only a CDA. A CDA cannot become an LPN without schooling and an LPN cannot become an RN without schooling.
CDA takes about 3 months.
LPN takes around 1 to 1 1/2 years full time.
RN takes between 2 and 3 years.
BSN takes about 4 years.
No, you can't work in other countries. You have to be board certified by the state and even to go from state to state you have to file for resiprosity (sp?)
Thank you for this video! Very informative and helpful. I’m also interested in health and wellness, please visit my channel and let me know if I can be of any help.
- Dr. Gatza
Septicemia is very serious. It means that bacteria are not only IN your bloodstream, but are growing there. It doesn't mean certain death, but can cause it. Fungal infections are harder to treat however. Why have they let this infection go so long as to cause this severity, and why are they just letting him go? Sounds like something is up. I know they can amputate (as with diabetic patients who let foot infections get so bad the foot/leg turns "black") as a last resort. Sounds odd to me.
Even though the remaining brother passed away. He must have nieces, nephews, or cousins still alive? Why can't they try to contact them. (or someone in the family the nursing home /hospital can contact)
Once they can find that someone who is willing to help George out. They should try to sign power of attorney to take over George's care.
Not so much hire a lawyer, power attorney is someone who is willing to over see's George's care (niece, nephew, cousin)
Hopefully a social worker in the home healthcare center will do their work to contact someone who is related to him.
Hi there,
This is the first time I've ever responded to one of these, but your story just really troubled me…
I'm a Home Care RN Case Manager in Colorado, so things may be slightly different there, but,… my first thoughts are as follows…
1) I assume she also has Medicare then… generally if you can get a nurse involved, even though it has to be short term, you can get a CNA in there to do lots for her with physician approval…
.
2) Medicaid will cover nurses to come in weekly and fill medication reminder systems (which she probably needs ?), and then the RN can request an order from the physician to get a CNA to come in, or even Personal Care Providers to come in (depending on her limitations), to assist her with ADL's (activities of daily living) – meals, repositioning, personal hygeine.
3) There are generally local programs for "Respite Care", that Medicaid may or may not cover.
I would contact your local Center for Aging (generally listed in the phone book or call information), the local community/ public health department, a Rehab Visiting Nurse Association (may simply also be a VNA), a discharge planner at a hospital, her physician, or a medical social worker. Any and all of these folks should be able to assist you.
Gently asking you, also, two other things:
1) Is she perhaps ready for a skilled nursing facility (long term care) – if she can care for herself, she could do Assisted living, but it sounds as though she may be past that point. Medicaid generally pays for about 90% of the residents who live in nursing homes.
2) If she is terminally ill (does she have Chronic Heart Failure? or something similar), a Hospice program can be of tremendous benefit.
There are a multitude of resources available for her – sometimes just have to get the right door open to get to them.
Best wishes~to all of you!
JO
Future Gerontological Nurse Practitioner
I don't know about the Washington area, I live in South Dakota. However, around here, every facility I know of will pay for your CNA classes as long as you work for them when you finish. As for the LPN, you don't have to get that before you're an RN, just go right to the RN. It may be another year or two depending on the school, but if you want to be an RN anyway, just do that. Talk to the nursing home you are thinking of working at about LPN and RN.
I wouldn't want you for my nurse… so I'd call it a good career move.
The nurses I work with are smart and compassionate.
BCT for females is the same as it is for the males its physically and mentally demanding but its what you make it…it really is fun not so much at the time but looking back you do things you never would have thought you could..i was an out of shape single mom when i joined hadnt done much at all after having my son and i survived they push you and you work out everyday to get to where you need to be…as for showering you get used to it..after being hot and sweaty all day all you care about is getting clean. I am reserve so i cant give you anything about active duty but as a female in the reserves there are only a couple women in my unit and ive been accpeted and taken in like one of the guys and made some amazing friends that i will have forever..anything else let me know
Hospice will be able to offer her more services at this stage in a week than the home health I believe. Call the Home Health agency though your doctor uses for most of his patients and see if she would qualify for how many visits a week? some to bathe her, sometimes they will even send someone to help clean, you just need to call. Then call the Hospice and compare servcies.
Medicare covers home health and hospice services if they qualify.