How do I become a Home Health Aide in New York State?
Here are the steps on how to become a home health aide, HHA, in New York State
Congratulations! You have chosen an in-demand profession with workforce shortages in NYS. Licensed home care agencies such as Caring Professionals are seeking compassionate caregivers like you. Here are the steps to become a home health aide and start a career at the most caring agency with an outstanding reputation earned over 25 years of sensitive, culturally appropriate care.
Home care agencies are licensed by the NYS Department of Health.
You need to be trained by a school that is licensed by the NYS Department of Education or the NYS Department of Health. There are many. Google home health aide training and your zip code to find one close to your home.
Information and websites will be available. A high school diploma or GED are not required. Costs vary from school to school ranging from $300 to $700. Some offer part time courses during weekends. There are also many full time options. You will need to take approximately 75 hours of classes including 16 hours of practical clinical classes. There will be tests on the material covered that you will have to pass.
You have 60 days from the start of your schooling to complete the qualifying examinations.
To apply for a training course, you will need to submit a social security card, a valid state ID, and proof of a physical (which will include a PPD, drug testing, blood tests, and more that a doctor will fill out for you once the actual general physical examination has taken place). Once you apply, register, and complete the course and examinations, the school will issue you a valid Certificate as a Home Health Aide and your information will be entered into a state registry. You will now be ready to work as a home health aide at a licensed home care agency.
Your certificate will not need to be renewed as long as you work consecutively without a 24-month gap in employment as a home health aide.
To register for work at Caring Professionals is simple. We have human resource department representatives at our three main offices located in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. We can offer work in other boroughs and counties as well but these are our main locations for applying for work.
You will have to present your certificate as well as the same items you submitted to the school: your social security card, a valid state ID, and proof of a physical. You will also complete an application and register.
We will inform you of the various rates of pay and benefits. You will make your choice which will be confirmed at orientation.
Our human resources department will then process your paperwork. It will take several days. We will do a background and reference check. We will confirm the validity of your certificate.
You will then be notified of the mandatory Caring Professionals orientation. This takes six hours and is held in English, Spanish and Russian at the three locations mentioned beforehand. You will be paid for this time.
During this session, you will be issued a company ID, learn all procedures, and human resources requirements. You will be issued a booklet that describes your choices of benefits and pay and confirm your choice (which you may have already made at the time of application and registration). This gives you the opportunity to ask questions about your choices for many benefits, rates, and hours of employment.
Once you have completed the Caring Professionals orientation, your name will go into an availability list and the agency’s coordinators will offer you positions that fit your availability and location.
All home health aides are supervised by coordinators. Caring Professionals has a compliance department, which conducts random checking of compliance matters such as time keeping, safety, confidentiality, etc.
You will be happy to work with Caring Professionals, which offers substantial rates of pay and considerate coordinators. All staff members are supportive and treat you like valued members of the care team.
