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Career Development Denise Alexander
As the U.S. population continues to get older, home healthcare will play a larger role in the delivery of healthcare, which is good news for nurses and healthcare professionals who might be looking for a new work environment.
Here is a look at what home healthcare is, why it’s growing, the opportunities available and what skills might be best for someone to be successful in this field.
Home healthcare is when a patient gets professional care within their own home instead of a typical healthcare setting. There are a variety of healthcare services that can be provided in a home, including:
Many organizations provide homecare, including businesses that specialize in home healthcare, hospice care agencies and staffing companies. The care could be provided multiple times a week, daily, several times each day or for an entire shift.
Registered nurses are often involved in-home care, as well as therapeutic professionals and home healthcare aides.
There are several factors that contribute to the growing demand for home healthcare professionals. The majority of people who need home care are retired, and that population is consistently growing. Several thousand baby boomers reach retirement age every day in the United States. Turning 65 also triggers Medicare eligibility, which could cover home healthcare services.
Since home healthcare is more convenient and often less expensive than outpatient or inpatient care, it’s likely more people will get their care without leaving their house.
Home health professionals provide care to a patient because of an injury or illness. If possible, the treatment will build patients’ self-sufficiency and help them get better.
Services provided by medical professionals could include physical or occupational therapy, wound care, injections and/or nutrition therapy. A home healthcare professional could also check a patient’s vital signs – such as blood pressure and heart rate – to make sure they’re taking their medicine and provide information about how they can take care of themselves.
There are many reasons why you might want to choose a career in-home healthcare, including:
Home healthcare professionals range from healthcare aides to physical therapists, occupational therapists and nurses. There is a very different pathway for each career. Medical assistants can work as medical aides under the direction of the medical doctor or a nurse practitioner. In nursing, you may decide to become a home health nurse. To become a home health nurse you’ll need to:
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2023 / Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.
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