One common thread among those looking to become home health aides is the wish to achieve a home health aide certification. Home health aide certification is an important component in achieving work as a HHA as it helps establish authority and experience as well as a minimum standard for the education of the home health aide.
Home Health Aide Certification Requirements
Each state ultimately has it’s own Home health aide certification requirements so students need to check with the appropriate state departments in order to find out what these requirements are. This will allow potential or current students to make sure the home health aide certificate training that they are receiving is within the bounds of the law. The most common governmental group involved in this promise is the states department of health. If they are not the proper governing body to inquire about the home health aide certification, they will be able to forward you to the proper body. Some states may also require a CNA certificate before allowing HHA training to begin.
Home Health Aide Certification
Generally speaking, home health aide certification includes between 75-100 hours of course/class work as well as practical training. At the end of the training period, all home health aide certifications will require the aplicant to pass a written state exam as well as a practical skills test. Since some states also require CNA training or other classes, it is not uncommon to recieve a CNA certification as well as a home health aide certification at the same time.
Why do we need Home Health Aide Certification?
Some potential HHA candidates wonder why all the need for certification exists. The short answer is that most home bound care recipients recieve their care via medicare. In order to meet federal regulation, and receive medicare dollars, home health aides must be certified in their state. There is also a national home health aide certification offered via the National Association for Home Care (NAHC). This makes it possible for home health aide students in all states to recieve their home health aide certification.
At the end of this journey to home health aide certification, the HHA student will be recognized as a certified HHA. This will allow the HHA to work directly under a registered nurse and begin their career as a home health aide.
Finally, there exist a number of HHA agencies that will offer HHA certification free of charge in return for a period of work that is contractually agreed to. These certifications are often times high quality as the student will need to be able to jump directly into the work force after their training period is over. One benefit of this arrangement is a guaranteed job after graduation. This should make any potential home health aide certification seeker happy as the desire to help people should be strong in any HHA candidate.
Home Health Aide certification requirements by state:
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky |
Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota |
Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming |
Alaska HHA Certification Requirements:
Certification Required: CNA
Details: In Alaska, you first must be certified by the State Board of Nursing as a certified nurse aide. You can go to www.dced.state.ak.uis/occ/pnur.htm for more information; that is the web site for the Board of Nursing. Once you are certified in Alaska as a nurse aide, then you can apply to work at a home health agency. It is up to the agency to train/orient the CNA to the specific roles/responsibilities for a home health aide.
Indiana HHA Certification Requirements:
Certification Required: Indiana State Department of Health Certification
Details: For more details on how to obtain your Indiana HHA certification, please visit the Indian State Department of Health website here: http://www.state.in.us/isdh/20126.htm.
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