The problems of caring for the elderly are observed in many countries worldwide.
According to statistics, human life expectancy is growing, and more and more elderly people need close care. To ensure proper care, various social programs are created that provide older people with places in homes for the elderly or a carer for home care.
The level of social protection for the elderly in Europe and the United States is relatively high. The general principles of caring for the elderly are similar to domestic ones, but there are also several differences due to historical and cultural characteristics.
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For example, in the UK, the emphasis is on providing the most effective and comfortable care for the elderly at home.
Carers in the UK become family members, and an elderly person is supervised almost hourly. It is worth noting that in the UK and European countries many older people live alone in the house, separately from the younger generation.
In addition, specialized nursing homes are widespread in Europe and the USA, configured not only for care but also for creating a family atmosphere. In such houses, not only nurses and doctors work with the elderly but also psychologists, as well as volunteers.
Also, the volunteer program “Good Neighborliness” operates in some economically developed countries. Volunteers of all ages, including retirees, help other seniors cope with financial or household problems.
Requirements for a Home Health Aide
Most people confuse a Home Health Aide with a social worker or nurse. These workers perform entirely different duties.
A Home Health Aide, in principle, is a junior medical staff. In other words, compared to a social worker does not clean the house or do the shopping. In addition, her duties are much broader than those of a nurse.
The main job of a nurse is caring for a sick person or an elderly patient who, due to their state of health, cannot cope with this on their own. There are different options here.
For example, an elderly person is alone in the house, he has no serious illnesses, but his age does not allow him to cook his food or go for walks.
The most difficult cases include those patients who need regular medical procedures, including massages and droppers, and bedridden patients who need special qualified care.
A nurse is, in many ways, a vocation since this work requires patience, goodwill, and the ability to find a common language even with a patient who has a difficult character. And you should have such qualities as responsibility and attentiveness.
List of duties
Home health aides must do the following:
- Carry out hygiene procedures;
- Change diapers (they are also available for adults);
- Bathe the patient
- Perform prophylaxis against bedsores;
- Regularly change bedding, if necessary, wash and iron it (this also applies to underwear and clothing of the patient);
- Assist the patient in moving around the house;
- clean indoors;
- If necessary, plan a diet menu and buy all the essential products, cook food;
- Accompany to medical institutions;
- Measure temperature and blood pressure, collect samples for analysis, give orally taken drugs, administer suppositories and injections, and help with therapeutic exercises.
What is the salary of a Home Health Aide in the USA?
Even though the demand for nurses is relatively high here, the domestic market is also rich in candidates. Therefore, the only option for those who want to work as a Home Health Aide will be an official device with the help of a specialized agency.
It is necessary to find home health aide training classes near me to get an HHA certificate.
The lowest pay for a nurse in the US is $17,000 annually. However, people with a medical education should expect a salary of $27,000 yearly, which is over $2,000 monthly. The maximum income for a nurse will be no more than 33-35 thousand dollars a year.
Unofficially moonlighting as nurses receives an income of $ 15 per hour, almost twice the payment of the agency’s clients.
The main factor influencing the nurse’s salary size is the diagnosis and severity of the patient’s condition.
Patronage care is needed by people with various forms of diseases, and disabilities, during the period of postoperative rehabilitation, and recovery from fractures and injuries. The following components also determine the salary:
- schedule
- type of hire
- list of duties
- availability of medical education
- personal characteristics (experience, references)