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One of the fastest growing sectors of the
medical industry is that of home health. There are many reasons for this
growth, but most important are:
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The number of aging and infirm citizens
in the country.
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The lower cost of care in relation to
hospitals and long term care facilities.
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The fact health providers consider home
care to be the most humane and compassionate form of care.
Because of the rapid growth in this category of healthcare, a variety of
employment opportunities have become available. Many hospitals are turning
to home health as a method to recapture revenue that would be otherwise
lost. Despite the efforts of hospitals to enter the home care market,
private companies dominate home health. Since these are primarily businesses
that have not been in existence for long, they need to hire not only for in
home providers, but also for support and administrative positions.
The future demand for home care will be staggering. In 1997, over 22.4
million households provided home care to a loved one over 50. Over time,
this drain on physical and emotional resources will result in a desire for
outside help in the home. Additionally, Medicare funding of short term home
health care is projected to more than double by 2010. Meanwhile, workers
employed in the home health field actually dropped by 29,000 in 2000. The
projected employment outlook for just home health aides leads all medical
job categories at a whopping 66.8%!
One may think the vast majority of home health related jobs are lower paying
aide jobs. Fortunately, this is not the case. As previously mentioned,
private home health companies will need to increase their administrative and
support positions like medical coders, accounting and billing, medical
secretaries, nurse managers, shift schedulers, information technology and
marketing. Working for a home health company doesn’t necessarily dictate
providing direct patient care.
Even among the patient care positions, there is a lot of variety. Though
patient care is primarily provided by lower paid home health aides; as
demand increases, wages are expected to rise. There are also a lot of
opportunities for CNAs, LPNs and registered nurses (RNs). Some patients only
require short term care – a few hours a day, or for a fixed period of time.
Others require long term care – 24/7 for the rest of their lives.
The bottom line is, there are a lot of employment opportunities in the field
of home healthcare. The best paying jobs will be those that require some
post secondary training. There is also a lot of variety of work needed, not
all employment will provide patient care. If you want a solid future, in one
of the most stable industries in the country, studying to be part of the
home healthcare market is a wise choice.
Home Healthcare Job Fields
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Certified Nurses Aid
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Licensed Practical Nurse
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Registered Nurse
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Physician’s Assistant
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Nurse Manager
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Medical Coder
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Medical Secretary
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Medical Administration
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Information Technology
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Sales and Marketing
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Operations Manager
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