What does a home health care coordinator do?
A home health aide coordinator is responsible for caring for elderly, ill, or disabled patients. You first assess the type and amounts of help a patient needs, then connect them to health care providers and monitor and coordinate their treatment plans.
What is a home health care coordinator’s salary?
You can work for individuals, hospitals, retirement homes, governments agencies, and hospice agencies. Regardless of where you work, it is a lucrative job that will see you take home a salary of about $39,376.
To become a home health aide coordinator, there are various requirements that you should adhere to. They include:
Education and Experience
1. Acquire a high school diploma
You should have a minimum of a high school diploma. You may get a job with only this level of education. However, most employers require that you have some post-secondary education, such as an associate degree.
2. Acquire an associate degree
An associate degree in related health fields such as nursing is considered ideal. This will help you gain the core knowledge and medical skills you will require while working as a home health aide coordinator.
Most associate degrees will take you about two years to graduate. Nonetheless, there are some which may take a shorter time to complete (about one and half years).
Other than the associate degree, you should have a practicing license if your area of study demands that you have one to work. To get a license, you will be required to take an examination to prove your acquired knowledge and skills.
Note that the licensing requirements depend on the state or country you are in. You, therefore, need to check with your state department on what is required.
3. Get some experience
Most employers require at least one year of experience before becoming a home health aide coordinator.
Once you earn your associate degree, you can look for home health nurse/aide jobs. These will provide you with the necessary skills and experience. You can then apply for a job as a home health aide coordinator. The more experience you have, the better the chance of landing a desirable opportunity.
Like most white-collar jobs, you need to further your education to land even better prospects. You can, therefore, consider pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree in related health fields. Some employers also consider a bachelor’s degree in business, communications, public relations, and health care administration.
What skills do you need to be Home Health Aid Coordinator?
Other than formal education, you need to possess skills such as
- Know how to drive. This skill will come in handy where you need to transport your patients to health care facilities.
- Be familiar with clinical health billing, database, and payroll software programs.
- Be good in oral communication
- Be CPR certified
- Possess knowldge in medical coding processes
- Be familiar with client documentation and management
- Be a problem solver
- Ability to be calm even under pressure or in a difficult situation.
- Basic computer skills including Microsoft office
- Good phone etiquette
- Ability to multi-task and identify urgent tasks.
Personal Attributes
Like most health-related professions, a home health coordinator’s job can be pretty demanding. You will need to visit your patients’ homes, move them from place to place, avail yourself whenever called upon (including night and weekend calls), and always maintain a compassionate demeanor. Additionally, you should maintain discretion on your patients’ information.
To achieve this, you need to be patient, disciplined, friendly, attentive to details, and passionate about human health.
Planning to Become a Home Health Aide Co-ordinator?
Assuming you already have a high school, the next step should be to find a suitable institution to undertake your associate degree. Your choice will be dictated by your preferred field of study, how much you are willing to invest in your education, and the accessibility of the institution.
Among other search engines, Google will provide you with a list of schools within your locality and, hopefully, their contact information. You can use this information to find the perfect fit.
It is essential that you carefully select your preferred field of study as it will have a bearing on your career choices. Before settling on one, you should ask yourself questions such as: Do you intend to be a home health aide coordinator for a long time? What are your career goals? Will you change your career path at some point in life? Answering such questions will help you land a suitable pick.
Once you get your associate degree, you can then move on to find an internship for a year or work as a home health nurse. At this stage, you will most likely have to put up with lesser pay as you are considered inexperienced. Not to worry, though. After you have worked for a year or so, you can go ahead and seek your dream job.
Good luck!
