Texas Home Health Aide Programs

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

How to Become a Home Health Aide in Texas and Home Health Aide Programs in Texas

Home health aides are in demand in many cities around Texas. Students who are interested in working as a home health aide can enroll at one of several schools in Texas to be able to care for patients at home. Sanford-Brown College is one school that provides training for home health aides. The college has locations in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. However, students must find out which locations offer the program. Everest College in Arlington, Dallas, and Fort Worth, also provides programs in nursing and emergency medicine. Students may also enroll in nursing or home health aide programs at El Paso Community College which has campuses at several locations in the El Paso area.

South Texas College in McAllen, Laredo Community College and Trinity Valley Community College in Athens also offer programs for home health aides. One of the best nursing programs is at Odessa College, a two year public college in West Texas. Students who enroll in one of the nursing programs at Odessa College may choose an Associate Nursing Degree program at the main campus in Odessa, or Vocational Nursing at one of the campuses in Andrews or Monahans.

A home health aide is responsible for providing basic medical care and personal services for patients in their residences. Home health aides assist patients with personal grooming and may provide light housekeeping services, depending on what the patient's requirements are. Home health aides must successfully complete training programs that are regulated by the state in order to work with private patients. Usually home health aides work through a home health agency. The number of hours that students must train is regulated by the state of Texas. Students must know how to give medications, assist patients with personal hygiene, organize the patient's living space according to their needs, and cook meals and clean if necessary.

Depending on the school that the home health aide trains at in Texas, certificate programs could offer courses on organizational skills and maintenance of the home, health care supervision, medical terminology, and patient support and home health care. When a student successfully completes a certificate program in home health care, agencies that hire them require that they have had at least 16 hours of training prior to working with patients. A home health aide that works for an agency that gets reimbursement from Medicare or Medicaid must have 75 hours of training. Home health aides may get voluntary certification from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice or certification as a CNA.

• Texas Department of Health
• Harris County Health Department (Houston)