Home health aide is a term used by some states and some programs to describe the person who provides caregiving in the home. In New Jersey, for instance, the state passed mandatory training for professional caregivers and used the term “home health aide” for these caregivers and titled the training “Home Health Aide” training.
Some government sponsored programs, such as Medicaid home care, will also use the term home health aide.
Companion caregivers provide in-home care and the term caregiver has become the universal title. Don’t become confused by the specific labels that are used as what matters most is what the job duties or care duties entail.
Caregiving that consists of assisting with the Daily Activities of Living which is not “skilled” care, provided by a nursing aide, is called companion caregiving. As senior care has moved to the home, the need for professional caregivers has continued to grow.
Certified Nursing Aides, or C.N.A.’s, provide hands-on care and must be trained in understanding vital signs and how to communicate updates of conditions to nurses and doctors.
Find the caregiver training in your state and learn more about becoming a Certified Nursing Aide, a designation that is nationwide because of a federal law that provided guidelines for this training to be enforced in every state in the U.S.A. Ohio is the only state that decided to call the C.N.A. a “Skilled Nursing Aide” and uses the term S.T.N.A. for C.N.A.’s which means “State Tested Nurse Aide”.
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