Home Health Aide Certification in Virginia

To work as a home health aide in Virginia, you need to complete a home health aide training program. There are plenty of institutions and training facilities that offer training courses for HHA certification in Virginia. They consist of both classroom-based and clinical training. State code dictates who can and cannot become a home health aide. Generally, those who properly train as home health aides, registered nurses, or nursing assistants can easily become home health aides in Virginia.

Licensing Requirements in Virginia

To become a licensed home health aide professional, you need to complete at least 75 hours worth of training. This can be done through a home health aide certificate program. Within these 75 hours, you have to complete at least 16 hours worth of clinical training.

Once you have completed your home health aide training, you’ll need to apply for a license. This can be done via the Virginia Board of Nursing. Once your license has been approved, you can apply for home health agencies.

It’s worth noting that the Virginia code refers to the occupation as ‘home attendant’.

Certification

After completing your training program, you need to take a competency test. This test will explore topics covered in training programs, which include the following:

Communicating
Blood pressure and vitals recording
Recording patients temperature
Observing and reporting patient status
Body functions and reporting
Hygiene and grooming
Client positioning
Ambulation
Transfer techniques
Fluid and nutrition intake
Serving special diets
Infection control
Emergencies and proper procedures

If a candidate does not pass one of the above areas, they may still receive registration to be able to work for a home health agency. However, they won’t be allowed to perform any task related to the area they failed in unsupervised. Instead, they’ll be supervised by licensed health care professionals until they can complete the task competently.

Once you become a registered health aide in Virginia, you’ll also have to carry out additional education every 12 months. This continued education consists of 12 hours per year and serves to improve your knowledge and brush up on topics.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for Virginia home health aides is very promising. Across the U.S., the job outlook for home health aide roles is expected to increase by 25% over the next decade. This is a promising statistic and is sure to increase the job prospects for professional home health aides in Virginia.

Medical assistance services are expected to grow also, so it’s a very promising sector to get into – in any capacity.

Salaries

The current salary for a home health aide professional is $29,430 per year (on average). This means that home health aides make around $14.15 per hour. These figures are based on data gathered by the Bureau of Labour Statistics in May 2021.

Where to Find Work

You could try getting a job at one of the following home health agencies:

AMEDISYS Home Health Care
Southern Virginia Regional Home Health — Emporia
Home Nursing Services of Southwest VA Inc
Home Instead Senior Care
LivHome

FAQs

How do I become a care aide in Virginia?

Personal care aides (PCAs) are required to complete 40 hours worth of training in order to get registered. They’re also required to complete 12 hours of additional training every year.

Are caregivers in high demand in Virginia?

Caregivers – home health and personal care aids – are in high demand not just in Virginia, but right across the U.S. Jobs will constantly open up as the population and the labor shortage continues to grow.

Sources

https://www.howtobecomeahomehealthaide.com/home-health-aide-training-virginia/

https://homehealthaideguide.com/hha-training/states/virginia-hha/

https://virginiahcs.com/caregiver-resources/hha-training-course/