Occupation · SOC 31-1121
Home Health Aides
Monitor the health status of an individual with disabilities or illness, and address their health-related needs, such as changing bandages, dressing wounds, or administering medication. Work is performed under the direction of offsite or intermittent onsite licensed nursing staff. Provide assistance with routine healthcare tasks or activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, toileting, or ambulation. May also help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry depending on the patient's abilities.
Median wage
$35,940
$27,050–$46,360
Projected growth
—
—
Annual openings
—
per year
Employed (US)
5,464,490
Job Zone 2
Typical preparation
Some preparation
Stackable credential programs
23 mapped
Core skills
Active ListeningService OrientationSocial PerceptivenessCritical ThinkingMonitoringReading ComprehensionInstructingTime Management
Knowledge areas
Customer and Personal ServiceEnglish Language
Technology & tools
Medical softwareEnterprise resource planning ERP softwareVideo conferencing softwareOperating system softwareData base reporting software
Representative tasks
Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, or problems to report and discuss observations with supervisor or case manager.Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and grooming.Bathe patients.Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their personal care.Entertain, converse with, or read aloud to patients to keep them mentally healthy and alert.Plan, purchase, prepare, or serve meals to patients or other family members, according to prescribed diets.Check patients' pulse, temperature, and respiration.Provide patients and families with emotional support and instruction in areas such as caring for infants, preparing healthy meals, living independently, or adapting to disability or illness.Perform a variety of duties as requested by client, such as obtaining household supplies or running errands.Direct patients in simple prescribed exercises or in the use of braces or artificial limbs.Massage patients or apply preparations or treatments, such as liniment, alcohol rubs, or heat-lamp stimulation.Administer prescribed oral medications, under the written direction of physician or as directed by home care nurse or aide, and ensure patients take their medicine.Care for children with disabilities or who have sick parents or parents with disabilities.Accompany clients to doctors' offices or on other trips outside the home, providing transportation, assistance, and companionship.Change dressings.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Patient mobility assistance — follow step-by-step protocols to help residents move in and out of beds and wheelchairs under direct supervisor guidance in a private home setting.Basic bathing procedures — perform supervised sponge and tub baths for patients using established hygiene protocols in a residential care environment.Vital signs observation — measure and record pulse, temperature, and respiration using standard thermometers and pulse oximeters under nurse or case manager direction.Patient care records — document daily observations of patient condition and progress in written logs using agency-provided forms under supervisor review.Bed linens and laundry — change bed linens and complete basic household laundry tasks following care plan instructions in a client's home.Prescribed meal preparation — prepare simple meals that meet a patient's prescribed dietary requirements under the direction of a supervising care coordinator.Patient engagement activities — read aloud, converse with, and engage patients in basic recreational activities to support mental alertness as directed by the care plan.Dressing and grooming assistance — support patients with dressing, hair care, and personal grooming tasks using safe handling techniques learned in entry-level training.Active listening during patient interaction — recognize and report changes in a patient's mood, complaints, or expressed needs to the supervising case manager.Electronic health record entry — enter basic patient care data into medical software or agency databases following data-entry guidelines provided during onboarding.
developing
Patient transfer techniques — execute safe bed-to-wheelchair and home-to-automobile transfers with minimal oversight, adjusting approach for individual patient mobility limitations.Bathing and personal care routines — complete full personal care sequences for multiple patients within a scheduled shift, maintaining dignity and hygiene standards in varied home environments.Vital signs monitoring and trending — check and log pulse, temperature, and respiration at regular intervals, identifying deviations from baseline and escalating concerns to the supervising nurse.Care progress documentation — write organized, accurate narrative notes in patient records and relay meaningful updates to case managers during routine check-ins.Dietary meal planning and grocery procurement — plan, shop for, and prepare weekly menus aligned with prescribed diets, adapting recipes to patient preferences and cultural considerations.Household maintenance support — manage laundry, cleaning, and household organization tasks efficiently across a caseload of multiple clients without prompting from supervisors.Social and emotional support — engage patients in purposeful conversation and recreational activities that reinforce cognitive alertness and emotional well-being during routine home visits.Family caregiver instruction — explain basic caregiving techniques such as safe patient handling or wound observation to family members using clear, plain language.Time management across client caseload — organize daily visit schedules and task sequences to meet all patient care obligations reliably across a multi-client assignment.Video conferencing for care coordination — participate in telehealth check-ins and remote case conferences using video conferencing software to share patient observations with supervisors.
proficient
Complex mobility and transfer management — independently adapt transfer and positioning strategies for patients with advanced physical limitations, including post-surgical or neurological conditions, in challenging home environments.Comprehensive personal care delivery — perform the full spectrum of bathing, grooming, and dressing assistance autonomously for clients with diverse and complex needs, maintaining dignity and infection-control standards.Vital signs interpretation and escalation — assess patterns in pulse, temperature, and respiration readings over time, making sound judgment calls about when to escalate findings to clinical supervisors or emergency services.Detailed patient record management — produce thorough, accurate, and well-organized care records using medical software and database tools, ensuring documentation meets agency compliance and audit standards.Individualized diet and meal adaptation — design and implement meal plans that accommodate prescribed diets, food allergies, cultural preferences, and swallowing difficulties without requiring external direction.Family and patient health education — provide structured instruction to patients and family members on topics including disability adaptation, infant care, and chronic disease self-management using clear teaching strategies.Holistic emotional and psychosocial support — recognize signs of depression, anxiety, or cognitive decline in patients and apply evidence-informed communication techniques to provide meaningful emotional support during home visits.Non-routine problem solving in the home — identify and resolve unexpected care challenges such as equipment malfunctions, sudden health changes, or unsafe home conditions using critical thinking and sound judgment.Interdisciplinary care coordination — communicate effectively with nurses, physicians, and social workers through electronic mail and care management platforms to ensure continuity across the patient's full care team.Independent caseload oversight — manage a full personal caseload across multiple clients, self-monitoring performance, prioritizing competing demands, and maintaining high care quality without routine supervision.
advanced
Mentorship and on-the-job training — guide newly hired home health aides through skill demonstration, feedback, and coaching in real client environments, accelerating their readiness for independent assignments.Agency documentation standards leadership — develop and improve patient record-keeping templates and data-entry protocols in medical and database software to enhance accuracy and compliance across the team.Care quality monitoring program — establish and oversee a systematic process for reviewing aide documentation and observational reports to identify care gaps and drive continuous improvement across an agency's caseload.Family caregiver education program design — create structured instructional materials and group sessions that teach family members and new aides caregiving best practices, including safe mobility assistance and prescribed diet adherence.Complex case consultation — serve as a resource for colleagues and supervisors when non-routine patient challenges arise, applying deep experiential knowledge to recommend care strategies for clients with advanced medical or behavioral needs.Interdisciplinary collaboration leadership — represent the home health aide perspective in multi-disciplinary care team meetings, contributing patient observations and social context insights that influence care plan decisions.Workforce scheduling and coordination — coordinate shift assignments and visit scheduling across a team of aides using enterprise resource planning or office suite software to ensure consistent, gap-free client coverage.Technology adoption facilitation — lead team-level adoption of new medical software, telehealth platforms, and electronic health record systems by demonstrating use cases and providing peer coaching during rollout.Patient advocacy and ethical judgment — identify and escalate concerns about patient safety, dignity violations, or unmet psychosocial needs to agency leadership, acting as a consistent advocate for vulnerable clients in the home care setting.Organizational performance reporting — compile and present data-driven reports on team care outcomes, documentation compliance, and client satisfaction using spreadsheet and database reporting software for agency leadership review.
Also known as
92 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
CompanionAerospace Medical Service Apprentice, Flight and Operational Medical Technician (Air Force 4N031F)Dental Assistant (Air Force 4Y0X1)Nurse's CompanionHome AttendantDirect Care WorkerCaregiverAerospace Medical Service Journeyman, Aeromedical Education Technician (Air Force 4N051G)Aerospace Medical Service Craftsman, Neurodiagnostic Medical Technician (Air Force 4N071B)Health Care AssistantDay Support ProfessionalHealth Service WorkerAerospace Medical Service Apprentice, Independent Duty Medical Technician (Air Force 4N031C)Home Health Care ProviderAerospace Medical Service Helper, Neurodiagnostic Medical Technician (Air Force 4N011B)Aerospace Medical Service Helper, National Registry Paramedic (Air Force 4N011H)Home Health Aide (HHA)Aerospace Medical Service Helper, Flight and Operational Medical Technician (Air Force 4N011F)Dental Assistant Helper (Air Force 4Y011)Health Services Management Superintendent (Air Force 4A091)Resident Care AssociateHome Health Social WorkerHome Help AideHome Care GiverHealth Services Management Craftsman, Health Information Technology (Air Force 4A071S)Direct Care CounselorDirect Support Professional (DSP)Aerospace Medical Service Craftsman, Flight and Operational Medical Technician (Air Force 4N071F)Home ProviderAerospace Medical Service Helper (Air Force 4N011)Dental Assistant Journeyman (Air Force 4Y051)Aerospace Medical Service Craftsman, National Registry Paramedic (Air Force 4N071H)Home Hospice AideHealth Services Management Helper (Air Force 4A011)Aerospace Medical Service Journeyman, Neurodiagnostic Medical Technician (Air Force 4N051B)Residential CounselorAerospace Medical Service Helper, Independent Duty Medical Technician (Air Force 4N011C)Aerospace Medical Service Apprentice, Aeromedical Education Technician (Air Force 4N031G)Aerospace Medical Service Craftsman, Aeromedical Education Technician (Air Force 4N071G)Health Services Management Journeyman (Air Force 4A051)