Kentucky Home Health Aide Programs

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

How to become a Home Health Aide in Kentucky – Finding the Right Home Health Aide Programs in Kentucky

A home health aide can also be referred to as a certified nursing aide or nursing aide, depending on their qualifications. If you are thinking about how to become a home health aide in Kentucky, you will want to learn more about the programs available, the certification requirements in the state, and what a home health aide does on a typical day. Home health aides are not licensed health care professionals, but they will need to complete an approved training program, pass a competency exam, and become listed on the Kentucky Nurse Aide Registry. The competency exam will include both a clinical skills portion as well as a written exam, testing your knowledge of nursing skills.

Home health aide programs in Kentucky are designed to teach aspiring nursing aides how to care for patients in a home setting. Rather than working in a clinic or hospital, they will learn the skills they need to take care of patients from the comfort of their own home. There are many skills that are covered in this type of certification program, including medical terminology, basic life support, how to take vital signs, and nutrition. Home health aides may need to care for the patient's basic human needs, including feeding and bathing them. Many home health aides work with the elderly or those who are disabled, who need help performing daily tasks.

Upon completing the training program and becoming registered with the Kentucky Nurse Aide Registry, home health aides will work for a home healthcare agency, who will assign them to individuals. Not all of these agencies will require you to be certified, but a certification certainly helps increase employment prospects. Some employers will require that health aides have completed a 75-hour training program, including a minimum of 16 hours of supervised training. Common courses included in this training program include health maintenance, first aid, and medication mathematics.

In addition to these home health aide programs in Kentucky, students can also improve their chances of employment by becoming certified through the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. They test home health aides in 17 areas of competency. After receiving certification and completing training at the University of Kentucky or technical colleges, students may find employment in one of the larger metropolitan areas in the state. The highest average salaries for home health aides in Kentucky are listed in Elizabethtown and Louisville, both of which have an average salary over $23,000.

Kentucky Board of Nursing
312 Whittington Parkway, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40222
Phone: (502) 429-3300
Fax: (502) 429-3311

Kentucky Nurses Association

• Kentucky Department for Public Health
• The Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department