Occupation Profile

Home Health Aides

(SOC Code : 31-1011)

in Santa Cruz County

Provide routine, personal healthcare, such as bathing, dressing, or grooming, to elderly, convalescent, or disabled persons in the home of patients or in a residential care facility.

Employers usually expect an employee in this occupation to be able to do the job after Short-term on-the-job training .

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Santa Cruz County is the same as Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA.

Occupational Wages

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Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA	2013	1st Qtr	$12.73	$9.95	$12.45	$14.07

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

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Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
Santa Cruz County	2010 - 2020	640	990	350	54.7	43

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

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Within miles of Zip Code.

Possible Licenses Required and Issuing Authority

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License Title

License Authority

Home Health Aide Certification

Department of Public Health
Licensing and Certification
Aide and Technician Certification Section
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/occupations/Pages/AidesAndTechs.aspx

About Licenses

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

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Industry Title

Number of Employers in Santa Cruz County

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Community Care Facility for the Elderly

41.2%

Home Health Care Services

14.3%

Employment Services

4.8%

Individual and Family Services

389

3.6%

Other Residential Care Facilities

1.9%

About Staffing Patterns

Data for Training Programs not available.

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

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Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, or problems to report and discuss observations with supervisor or case manager.

Check patients` pulse, temperature, and respiration.

Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and grooming.

Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their personal care.

Entertain, converse with, or read aloud to patients to keep them mentally healthy and alert.

Administer prescribed oral medications, under the written direction of physician or as directed by home care nurse or aide, and ensure patients take their medicine.

Plan, purchase, prepare, or serve meals to patients or other family members, according to prescribed diets.

Accompany clients to doctors` offices or on other trips outside the home, providing transportation, assistance, and companionship.

Direct patients in simple prescribed exercises or in the use of braces or artificial limbs.

Provide patients and families with emotional support and instruction in areas such as caring for infants, preparing healthy meals, living independently, or adapting to disability or illness.

More Tasks for Home Health Aides

Top Skills used in this Job

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

More Skills for Home Health Aides

Data for Tasks not available.

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Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

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Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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Alternate Titles

Home Care Workers; Homemaker Health Aides; Nurse Assistants; and Home Attendants.