How to Become a Home Health Aide in Georgia (Requirements & Schools)

Becoming a home health aide is one of the easiest ways of entering the healthcare system, in a field where direct contact with patients.

If you want to get hired as a home health aide in Georgia, we prepared the details to help you start your new career!

Training and Certification

In Georgia, home health aides don’t need to be licensed, but many employers prefer their staff to be certified.

In many cases, the employers sponsor the training programs that offer certifications for this profession.

The training can last for as little as 4 weeks and generally, it adheres to the federal standards of:

• 75 training/ education hours
• 16 clinical hours

At the end of the program, candidates have to pass an exam.

There are several exams you can take, with some of them having wider recognition across the country compared to others.

Once you receive your certification, you’re expected to continue your education every year for 12 hours, to maintain the certificate.

The schools below offer accredited training programs for future home health aides in Georgia.

Among the topics taught, you’ll have the following:

• Observation, reporting, and documentation of patient status
• Basic infection control procedures
• Maintenance of a clean, safe, and healthy environment
• Safe transfer techniques and ambulation
• Techniques in personal hygiene and grooming
• Nutrition

If you get hired by an agency, your training might be paid for unless you already have the certification.

There are some requirements you’ll need to meet in order to enroll in these schools:

• Pass a background check
• Pass a health check, including tuberculosis
• High school diploma or GED
• Pass an English, reading, and math test

Employment and Salary Information

Those who employ home health aides are generally called agencies.

Some of the best agencies in Georgia to hire home health aides are:

• Georgia Living At Home (South Atlanta Metro Region)
• Right at Home (Woodstock)
• Bluebird Homecare (Atlanta)
• A Helping Hand Home Care (Gainesville)
• ComForCare (Rome and Northwest Metro Atlanta)
• BrightStar Care (multiple locations)
• Coosa Valley Home Health (Rome)
• Gordon Home Care (Calhoun)

Hospitals are other important employers of home health aides, and working for a hospital means you’ll earn more than when working for an agency.

This is because the working hours will include night shifts and weekends.

Median salaries are higher in larger cities like Atlanta, Roswell, and Alpharetta.

All of these aspects, along with others, will influence how much you’ll earn.

Regional Salary in Georgia

Further Information

As a home health aide, you’ll work under the supervision of a certified nurse or a therapist.

This is because not all these aides will work for the elderly, but for those who recover after surgeries or accidents or are somehow disabled.

The supervising nurse or therapist will pay regular visits to the home of the client to ensure they receive proper care.

Since each client has different needs, the home health aide will have to adapt to their needs.

In some cases, this means the aide will have to undergo further training to ensure proper help is offered to the client.

It is also possible for some clients to need their aide to live with them full time.

HHA Schools by State