11 Places to Find Home Health Care Aides

There are a few common places that many families use to recruit home health aides. The most frequently used sources are:

-Independent Living Centers

-Your doctor's office

-Nursing Schools

-Physical Therapy Schools

-Vocational Schools (Including Certified Nursing Assistant programs)

-A home health-care agency

-State Department of Developmental Disability or County Vocational Rehabilitation

-Ads in local newspapers/classifieds

-Bulletin boards at schools, community colleges, places of worship, etc.

-Word of mouth

-Craigslist.org

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) often provide training programs for home health aides. CILs assist people with disabilities to live independently and offer information on managing personal assistants and a referral service. As with any other referral service, you should check the references and do an extensive interview on personal assistants. Similar programs are offered in rural areas called programs for rural independent living.

Senior centers can also be valuable resources as many maintain a list of people willing to do attendant work. If you have sough medical attention in the past, your physician, social worker, rehabilitation therapist, or other medical staff may have information on home health aides.

You may also want to contact nursing schools in your area either directly or posting job listings on their bulletin boards. Nursing students are frequently looking to gain experience and will likely view your care needs very seriously.

In the case that you do not find an adequate home health aide, you can always use an agency. The employees provided by the agency are usually more trained. In the event that you PA quits or takes a leave, agencies provide immediate replacements. Agencies provide insurance coverage and benefits to their employees which contributes to a more stable workforce. The downfall of using an agency is that you do not have as much freedom to choose your assistant as hiring independently, and much of the time there are restrictions on the tasks that their HHAs can do. Agencies are often much more expensive than hiring independently.

Many people have been successful using Refugee agencies. You can offer training in English as part of a benefits package. They sometimes offer additional support and training.

Finally, word of mouth is a powerful recruiting method. Ask family members and friends who have sought care in the past. Ask them about their experience with the HHA, but remember to do your own research and background check on the individual.

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