What Are the Duties of a Home Health Provider?

Experts project that jobs for home health providers will grow 51 percent between now and 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This growth stems from the projected increase of the elderly population. Home health providers help people who are elderly, disabled, ill or mentally disabled, or help a family where the parent is incapacitated and has children who need care. Most home health providers can provide more help than what family and friends can provide, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor in the Personal and Home Care Aides section.

Function

• Home health providers offer housekeeping and routine personal care services such as cleaning the house, doing the laundry and changing bed linens, according to the Department of Labor report. They may also plan meals, go grocery shopping and cook. Some clients will need help getting out of bed, bathing, dressing and grooming. Other duties may include taking the client to the doctor or on other errands. A good home health provider will be someone who will provide companionship. She will possess good listening skills, thereby providing psychological support for her patients.

Features

• If the home health provider works for an agency, a registered nurse, physical therapist or social worker will assign the duties, according to the Department of Labor report. Home health providers will need to keep a record of the services they perform and of the clients' progress and condition.

Varied Routine

• Home health workers may not have the same routine every day. They may go to the same home every day for years, or they may visit a few different clients on the same day. They may be the sole provider for the client, or they may work shifts with other home health aides.

Independence

• Home health workers will usually work on their own with occasional visits from their supervisor, according to the Department of Labor report. The supervisor will also provide instructions of when to visit each client and the exact duties required.

Considerations

• Home health providers are responsible for getting themselves to the clients' homes. Some workers will spend much of their day traveling from home to home.

Potential

• Because home health providers are dealing with individuals, no two situations will be alike. The home they are assigned may be clean and pleasant or dirty and crowded. The client may be friendly and cheerful or depressed and abusive. Home health providers can work on a full or part-time basis, day and night.