The Community Health Care diploma program is an intensive program designed to prepare you for a rewarding career in care-giving. Home health aides or home caregivers care for clients who are recovering from illness, those with terminal illness, or children and adults with physical and mental disabilities in the clients' home settings.

Home Health Providers work under the supervision of registered nurse, physical therapist, or social worker assigns specific duties and supervises personal and home care aides. They will also assist the client with basic nursing care, including transferring from bed to chair and extremities exercises. They assist with medication and nutrition.

The home health aide is expected to look and act professional, be reliable, compassionate, cheerful, and must enjoy working with people. It is essential that the aide be able to work independently with little direct supervision. The care provided may require lifting, carrying, bending, and reaching.

One hundred (100) hours of practicum will allow the student to combine theory and practice combined with twenty (20) hours of Career Development skills.

The home health aide may care for the following types of clients:

• Hospice patients
• Individuals with paralysis
• Stroke or heart disease
• Elderly with mental disabilities
• Individuals with physical disabilities & long-term illnesses

Day Classes:

• 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday thru Friday

Evening Classes:

• 5:30pm to 10:30pm Monday thru Friday

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK

Job opportunities are expected to be excellent because of rapid growth in home health care and high replacement needs. Employment of personal and home care aides is projected to grow by 51% between 2006 and 2016, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. This occupation will be amost the occupations adding the most new jobs, growing by about 389,000 jobs. The expected growth is due, in large part, to the projected rise in the number of elderly people, an age group that often has mounting health problems and that needs some assistance with daily activities. The elderly and other patients, such as, the mentally disabled, increasingly rely on home care. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)