Connecticut Home Health Aide Programs

New graduates celebrate with their families at their nursing commencement ceremony.

How to Become a Home Health Aide in Connecticut – Choosing a Quality Home Health Aide Program

If you have ever been curious about the duties performed by a Home Health Aide or their salary and education requirements, now is a great time to begin exploring your interest. Home health aides are mobile care givers. This field, dominated, on average, by women, involves traveling to patients' homes and assessing their current state of health with vital checks while providing care for the patient that they may be incapable of at the time, such as dressing and bathing. Home health aides are also qualified to dress wounds and surgical sites and provide physicals, as well as physical therapy, usually under the supervision of a RN or other licensed healthcare professional.

As of 2008, according to the BLS (The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), home health aides were making a median annual salary of $21,440. However, as late as May, 2011, home health aides working in Connecticut were making over $28,000 yearly with over 9,500 home health aides employed. Job demand for home health aides is expected to grow by 49% through the year 2018, with an addition of 384,000 jobs predicted to be created. Not only does employment as a home health aide offer positive employment outlooks, it is also a solid foundation for anyone looking to further their education within the medical field in the future.

With this information in mind, you might now be wondering how to become a home health aide in Connecticut. To qualify for a HHA program you may need to show proof of immunizations, have a health screening, provide a copy of your high school diploma or GED, and be able to pass a background check. Once inside a program, you will study basic healthcare ideas, life support, first aid, CPR, and medical terminology. Once a graduate of the program and depending on the state in which you reside, you may be required to sit for a skills assessment certification exam.

While only a small amount of schools offer home health aide programs in Connecticut, you can contact the Connecticut Department of Public Health or the Connecticut Association for Home Care, Inc. to receive information on where to find competent HHA programs. You may also find some home health agencies willing to pay for your education as long as you agree to stay with their facility for a certain period of time. You can contact any local HHA agency in your city and inquire as to how to go about getting started or you can also try your local American Red Cross.

Connecticut Board of Examiners for Nursing
Dept. of Public Health
410 Capitol Avenue, MS# 13PHO
P.O. Box 340308
Hartford, CT 06134-0328
Phone: (860) 509-7624
Fax: (860) 509-7553

Connecticut Nurses Association

• Connecticut Department of Health