<p>Job Description:</p> <p>Position Summary: A Home Health Aide is a trained paraprofessional prepared to assist professional personnel in personal care and home management as related to comfort, care, and safety of a consumer in the home.</p> <p>Position Responsibilities Include:</p> <p>Provides necessary information on health status and experience.</p> <p>Accepts only assignments for which qualified.</p> <p>Attends agency orientation and attends minimum of 12 hours of in-service education annually.</p> <p>Practices safety and competency within the job description.</p> <p>Communicates with the agency about problems and concerns.</p> <p>Complies with State/Federal regulatory acts and agency policies.</p> <p>Communicates with office staff regarding all scheduling of home health aide services to consumers.</p> <p>Completes required documentation accurately on a timely basis.</p> <p>Respects and maintains consumer confidentiality.</p> <p>Reports concerns of consumer abuse or neglect.</p> <p>Refrains from discussing personal problems, concerns, or opinions with consumer.</p> <p>Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with consumer.</p> <p>TASKS:</p> <p>The Home Health Aide assists in providing nursing care per the care plan as in the following tasks:</p> <p>Supervises Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).</p> <p>Encourages consumer in self-help and optional level of independence or participation in activities.</p> <p>Assists and encourages consumer to follow prescribed exercise program which may include range of motion (ROM) exercises and ambulation.</p> <p>Provides and assists with skin care by turning and positioning consumer as prescribed, and providing care to pressure point areas (e.g. back rubs).</p> <p>Assists and guides consumer in transfer process from bed to chair, commode or other devices.</p> <p>Assists in elimination process by giving bedpan, urinal, or bringing consumer to the bathroom; and measures and records intake and output.</p> <p>Assists in giving consumer bath, whether complete, partial, tub, or shower.</p> <p>Observes and reports changes in skin condition.</p> <p>Provides or assists in oral hygiene and hair care.</p> <p>Takes and records temperature, pulse, and respirations.</p> <p>Changes simple dressing (non - sterile dressing only) and reports changes in wound status.</p> <p>Shops for food and household supplies. Plans, prepares, and serves meals according to dietary instructions.</p> <p>Maintains a clean and safe environment for client by performing household services such as:</p> <p>a. Cleaning and changing bed linens</p> <p>b. Cleaning floors with mop and/or vacuuming</p> <p>c. Cleaning bathroom and kitchen</p> <p>d. Laundering, sewing and ironing consumer clothes</p> <p>Uses and maintains special equipment and supplies appropriately.</p> <p>Informs supervisor of any change in consumer's condition or family situation.</p> <p>Accompanies consumer outside the home when permitted.</p> <p>Provides or assists with postmortem care.</p> <p>Reminds consumer to take prescribed medications that are ordinarily self administered</p> <p>Tests urine for sugar and acetone and records and reports results.</p> <p>Performs additional tasks that may be assigned by the primary nurse or therapist, depending on the specific situation, on the Horne Health Aide's experience and competence. (Example: Routine uncomplicated colostomy care and decubitus care.)</p> <p>Performs only those duties listed on care plan except when instructed otherwise by clinical supervisor.</p> <p>A Home Health Aide may not:</p> <p>Perform any duties or procedures which require the skill or education of a licensed clinician, or make judgment or give advice on medical or nursing problems.</p> <p>Administer, instill, or apply medications.</p> <p>Apply sterile dressing application.</p> <p>Administer enema or perform disimpaction.</p> <p>Perform any irrigation such as colostomy, urinary catheter, etc.</p> <p>Perform gastric lavage or nasogastric tube feeding.</p> <p>Apply heat in any form.</p> <p>Care for tracheotomy tube.</p> <p>Cut toe or finger nails.</p> <p>Provide transportation for consumer, family, or friends in any vehicle under any circumstances</p> <p>Give out personal telephone number to consumers.</p> <p>Work directly for consumers on a private basis.</p> <p>Provide or purchase alcoholic beverages or lottery tickets, or perform banking and/or checking services for client or consumer representatives.</p> <p>Perform any activity which will jeopardize consumer, agency, or staff.</p> <p>QUALIFICATIONS:</p> <p>The home health aide is a mature person who:</p> <p>Is at least 18 years old.</p> <p>Is flexible, sensitive to the needs of others, reliable, and able to cope with emergencies.</p> <p>Has successfully completed the required training program or its equivalent for</p> <p>Home Health Aides, and has demonstrated competency.</p> <p>Is able to read, write, and speak English.</p> <p>Is able to carry out and understand directions and instructions.</p> <p>Is able to record messages and keep records.</p> <p>Is physically and emotionally capable of performing the job. See attached physical specifications.</p> <p>EVALUATION:</p> <p>The home health aide must continue to achieve a satisfactory competency and performance evaluation annually. The Home Health Aide Supervisor does performance evaluations with input from others in a supervisory and administrative capacity.</p> <p>I have read and understand this explanation and job description.</p> <p>Signature Date</p> <p>OPTIONAL STATEMENT:</p> <p>The agency is a part time employer and cannot guarantee any number of hours in any given week. The employee is responsible for his/her own transportation. The agency cannot guarantee work close to home or within walking distance or on a bus line, although the agency will consider transportation needs of the employee.</p> <p>I have read and understand this explanation and job description:</p> <p>Signature Date</p> <p>Home Health Aide Position Physical Specifications</p> <p>General Specifications:</p> <p>The home health aide (HHA) is a mature person who is at least 18 years old.</p> <p>High school diploma or GED is preferred.</p> <p>Successful completion of the required training program for Certified Home Health Aides as recommended by the State of Massachusetts and demonstration competency.</p> <p>Able to understand and carry out directions and instructions, record messages, and keep records.</p> <p>Able to read, write, and speak English.</p> <p>Physically and emotionally capable of performing the job of an HHA.</p> <p>The agency cannot guarantee any number of hours in any given week. The employee is responsible for his/her own transportation. The agency cannot guarantee work close to home or within walking distance or on a bus line, although the agency will consider transportation needs of the employee. The HHA has a three-month probationary period and then must continue to achieve a satisfactory competency and performance evaluation annually. The Field Supervisor does performance evaluations with input from others in supervisory and administrative capacity.</p> <p>Work time will be inside the consumer's home but the employee may be required to go outside the consumer's home. Personal vehicle usage may be required. Number of stairs to get into a consumer's home and stairs inside a consumer's home will vary. The work hours can be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The employee may commonly be asked to work overtime; however, most employees work between 20 and 40 hours per week.</p> <p>Equipment Used Commonly on Home Health Aide Cases:</p> <p>Manual Tools: Hoyer lift, Trans aide, slide board, prosthesis, cane, walker, wheelchair, other durable medical equipment (DME). Each individual case will have a different level of use.</p> <p>Physical Requirements:</p> <p>Bending: Frequent bending is required to care for clients in their bed or chair, i.e. tying client's shoes, foot care, housekeeping duties, and other personal care duties.</p> <p>Lifting: Frequent lifting of clients is required in transfer from bed to chair, chair to bed, up in chair and bed. Also other lifting of objects may be required. Approximate pounds required to lift will range according to size of consumer which varies from newborn to adult. Object size varies.</p> <p>Standing: Is required and may be up to 90 percent of employee time on surfaces ranging from hardwood floor or carpeting to concrete floor. Employee will be required to stand stationary for a period of time while providing consumer care.</p> <p>Walking: Is required for entry and mobility through consumer's home on the same surfaces as listed above. Also, walking with the consumer for his/her exercise programs and appointments.</p> <p>Climbing: Stair climbing is required in many apartments and homes which may have several levels of stairs. Also, stair climbing is often prescribed as consumer therapy with which the employee will be responsible to assist the consumer.</p> <p>Crawling: May be required while assisting consumers with personal care or performing household duties</p> <p>Work site: The common work site location will be in the consumer's home. Each "home" will vary from consumer to consumer. The "home" varies due to the diverse consumer population. Consumers' living space may range from small confined rooms to larger rooms on different levels. Also, consumers' living spaces may be houses, apartments, mobile homes, or other variations.</p> <p>Personal Protection Requirements:</p> <p>Available to home health aides when on an assignment are:</p> <ul> <li>Face shields/masks </li><li>Safety glasses </li><li>Gloves </li><li>Goggles </li><li>Protective clothing </li></ul> <p>At a minimum, employees will be required to use gloves. Other more complex assignments may require all of the personal protective equipment listed above.</p> <p>Exposure Hazards:</p> <p>The following hazards may vary from each case assignment:</p> <p>Temperature: Household temperature can vary in extremes from hot to cold.</p> <p>Fumes/smoke: May be present in consumer households.</p> <p>Noise: Noise levels may vary in consumers' homes from loud to soft. Also, external and environmental noise may be present, i.e. garbage trucks, heavy equipment use in street.</p> <p>Dust: Consumer household may have dust in varying degrees.</p> <p>Animals: Consumers and consumer representatives may have household pets, i.e. dogs, cats, birds, and other animals.</p> <p>Sensory Demands:</p> <p>Touch: The employee must be able to distinguish hot and cold temperatures. The employee must have fine motor skills to grasp items, manual dexterity, and the motor skills to lift items.</p> <p>Smell: The employee must be able to detect and distinguish odors.</p> <p>Vision: Normal range of vision is required with or without correction.</p> <p>Hearing: Normal range of hearing is required with or without correction.</p> <p>Verbal: The employee must be able to speak clearly when forming words and changing vocal tone to accommodate consumer's needs.</p> <p>Mental Health:</p> <p>Employees must demonstrate maturity and ability to deal effectively with emotionally demanding and stressful situations such as consumer death, pain, or difficulty.</p> <p>Remote Type</p> <p>On-site</p> <p>Hebrew SeniorLife is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.</p>