Home health nurses are responsible for delivering medical care to patients who are not able to care for themselves. These nurses tackle a wide variety of nursing duties. These activities include assessment and monitoring, and various other tasks.
If you need skilled nursing care services for you or your loved one, contact a home health agency such as Trusted Touch Healthcare. We will discuss the needs and the unique situation of your special person.
Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect from hiring a home health nurse.
Who are the Members of the Home Health Care Team?
Home health care can be provided by various experts in the medical field, including:
- physicians
- physical therapists
- occupational therapists
- wound care specialists
- respiratory therapists
- registered nurse
- licensed practical nurse
- various other licensed medical personnel
However, a home health care provider can also be a certified home health aide, a nursing assistant, or a personal care aide.
Each team member has a vital role to play in caring for the patient, and all members need to work together.
What are the Responsibilities of a Home Health Nurse?
As the name suggests, Rockville home health nurses treat patients in need of skilled nursing care from the comfort of their homes. They are an excellent option for those with chronic conditions who don’t want to stay in a hospital setting or assisted living facilities.
Usually, these nurses provide adult care during the day to patients who have long-term conditions or disabilities and need critical care over an extended period. These conditions may include kidney disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, congestive heart failure, and dementia.
However, home health care nurses may also deliver medical care to patients who only require Short term care. Some examples of short-term care are for those recovering after an accident, surgery, or an illness. These patients often have limited mobility and must undergo physical therapy to regain mobility and recover faster.
Primarily, a home nurse practitioner performs various nursing duties. These duties include dressing wounds, administering medications, taking blood from patients, blood pressure and pulse readings, and monitoring catheters.
However, they are also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the patients’ condition and working with a primary care physician and other care staff. By performing comprehensive nursing assessments, the nurses can spot any potential medical issues a patient may have before it becomes urgent.
Finally, nurses advise patients on taking medications, managing side effects, coping with their medical issues, and training them to use equipment and aids.
What’s the Difference Between an HHA and a CNA?
Home Health Aides (HHAs) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are personal care assistants who provide their services to patients in need of medical treatment and companion care, including the elderly, disabled, and chronically ill, among others. However, these two career paths have many differences.
Let’s take a closer look at the differences between a home health aide and a certified nursing assistant.
Nursing Duties and Responsibilities
The primary difference between the HHAs and the CNAs is each position’s duties. Home care aides are mostly focused on helping another person in terms of providing basic, personal care services. During their home visit, they may help the patients with dressing, bathing, eating, meal preparation, shopping for groceries, performing light housekeeping services, transportation, picking up lab results, gathering medical supplies, and various daily activities.
Home care aides can also accompany the patients on walks when they want to visit friends or attend a religious service. Their responsibilities are mainly focused on providing non-medical care. However, HHAs can also administer medications and check vital signs when supervised by licensed health care professionals.
Certified nursing assistants also help patients with various household tasks and activities of daily living, but compared to the HHAs, CNAs provide more advanced medical care. They perform additional duties, including administering medications, checking vital signs, monitoring changes in the patient’s condition, and reporting to nurses and doctors. Certified nursing assistants are obligated to work under a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse.
Certification and Training
Although formal education is not a requirement for home health aides, most of them have a high school diploma or a GED. HHAs are obligated to undergo hands-on training and pass a competency exam and standardized written tests for in-home care providers to hire them. This is a requirement in every state in the United States.
On the other hand, CNAs are required to pass a state licensing exam to obtain a state-approved CNA license. Many community colleges and medical schools offer formal training programs for those who want to pursue a certified nursing assistant career.
Can a CNA Draw Blood?
Since blood draw services are not some of the basic duties of a CNA, certified nurse aide courses don’t train the candidates to perform blood specimen collection from the patients. After obtaining normal CNA certification, the assistants may not perform a basic blood draw from the patient.
If a patient needs to have blood work done to keep track of their physical well-being, they may need to go to a hospital. The lab techs or nurses in a hospital will perform blood specimen collection for laboratory testing.
If a certified nursing assistant has additional training or certifications such as phlebotomy they can perform specimen collection for lab work.
Do Home Health Aides Take Vitals?
The responsibilities of a home health aide vary depending on the patient’s needs, the unique circumstances of their medical condition, and the plan of care established.
Home health aides perform various activities. These tasks primarily focus on personal care, including bathing, dressing, and meal preparation. However, home health aides also perform other tasks, one of which is taking vital signs.
Main vital signs monitored by health care providers and medical professionals include blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate. Taking vitals helps home health aides assess the patient’s well-being and detect and monitor medical issues.
Depending on the patient’s vital signals, a health aide can consult the doctor about adjusting the treatment if needed.
Can Home Health Aides Check Blood Sugar?
People with diabetes require careful monitoring of blood sugar levels and involve an onerous routine, which can sometimes be overwhelming, especially for the elderly. They may be required to monitor their sugar levels up to four times a day and administer synthetic insulin as needed.
Home health aides are in an excellent position to help patients take charge of their diabetes. They can remind the elderly when to check their blood sugar levels and administer insulin. Additionally, if a patient is not sure how to do these things, a home health aide can offer assistance and coaching.
Reach Out To Us Today
Many people don’t like the idea of staying in a hospital or in a nursing home, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they prefer recovering from the comfort of their home. If you are in need of skilled nursing care for your loved one, feel free to contact us at Trusted Touch Healthcare.
