6.2.4: Role of the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide

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Erin O'Hara-Leslie, Amdra C. Wade, Kimberly B. McLain, SUNY Broome

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The role of a Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide will vary depending on the needs of the patient with a developmental disability and their family. For many patients, Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides will assist with providing or assisting to provide self-care. The personal care skills covered in previous modules and in future modules in this course will all be used to work with a patient with a developmental disability. This includes bathing, skin care, and dressing, toileting, feeding, and assisting with ambulation.

Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides will monitor their patient’s health as directed by the Care Plan. They may be asked to measure intake and output. They may assist with housekeeping and meal preparation for their patient. They may provide respite for the family and assist with supervision and child care while the family is busy with another task or to allow them some respite.

As with all patients, using good communication skills is important and essential in doing their job well and meeting the needs of their patient. It will also be part of the job to help teach patients who need help learning effective communication skills. As with all patients, an important part of the job is to always be observing and documenting changes in physical, mental, emotional, or social health.

Report any issues of concern to a supervisor immediately. Always be sure to document any observations and tasks that you have completed and only once they are completed. Be watchful of issues of concern in the home such as domestic violence, substance abuse, or child abuse. Report any concerns to a supervisor immediately.

Performance Standards

Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides will use all of the basic skills they have learned in working with people with developmental disabilities. Remember the following:

Speak to all people respectfully and politely.
Include the patient in conversations. Speak with and not about them. Do not assume they cannot understand what is being said about them.
Use positive verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Avoid negative communication.
Explain things in a way the patient will understand. Observe how they receive information and make adjustments to how you communicate based on their understanding.
Encourage the patient to think by asking questions rather than just giving commands to them. Allow them a chance to respond and to make choices.
Encourage independence by allowing the patient to do as much as they can rather than doing for them. Be patient and allow extra time for task completing. Give praise and encouragement. Never be negative or criticize the patient when they try to complete a task.
Include the patient in decisions and provide choices to them whenever possible. This promotes self-determination and independence.
Always respect differences and individual desires, needs, and values.
Consider others’ feelings and concerns, even if they are different from your own. We are all different, and will have differences in opinion and values. Never be judgmental.

Follow these basic guidelines with all patients, including those who have developmental disabilities. While Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides may need to make adjustments in how they complete tasks or how they communicate, the basic set of skills and performance standards are required for work with every patient. Following these will allow Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides to provide the best care they can and to allow their patient to become as independent as possible.