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Health aide vs direct care aide

The differences between health aides and direct care aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health aide has an average salary of $30,434, which is higher than the $30,429 average annual salary of a direct care aide.

The top three skills for a health aide include patients, home health and community health. The most important skills for a direct care aide are home health, foster care, and CPR.

Health aide vs direct care aide overview

Health AideDirect Care Aide
Yearly salary$30,434$30,429
Hourly rate$14.63$14.63
Growth rate36%36%
Number of jobs121,842178,038
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 28%High School Diploma, 35%
Average age5048
Years of experience--

Health aide vs direct care aide salary

Health aides and direct care aides have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health AideDirect Care Aide
Average salary$30,434$30,429
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $39,000Between $22,000 And $41,000
Highest paying CityMarysville, WASpringfield, MA
Highest paying stateWashingtonVermont
Best paying companyBoston Medical CenterUniv Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs
Best paying industryEducationEnergy

Differences between health aide and direct care aide education

There are a few differences between a health aide and a direct care aide in terms of educational background:

Health AideDirect Care Aide
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 28%High School Diploma, 35%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common college--

Health aide vs direct care aide demographics

Here are the differences between health aides' and direct care aides' demographics:

Health AideDirect Care Aide
Average age5048
Gender ratioMale, 16.6% Female, 83.4%Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 8.0% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage5%7%

Differences between health aide and direct care aide duties and responsibilities

Health aide example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
  • Perform care plan documentation to effectively implement personal care, dietary needs, and ADL requirements.
  • Share health information with school staff and arrange training sessions for CPR certification and health care implementation.
  • Care consists of medication administration, helping with ADL'S if necessary with the students with significant needs.
  • Last school year, perform CPR on an adult volunteer and help resuscitate him and is doing just fine.
  • Document all physical condition, behavioral and mental illness changes in patients as well as procedures perform and medication administer.
  • Show more

Direct care aide example responsibilities.

  • Provide individuals appropriate assistance in completing ADL's, such as showering, toileting, transferring, dressing, and feeding.
  • Assist mentally disable adults with ADL's such as showering, grooming, oral care, eating, dressing and toileting.
  • Provide emotional and mental support to unstable patients and are experience in dealing with aggressive residents
  • Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
  • Advocate for disable children, help them thrive through completion of goals and one-on-one supervision SCIP, AMAP and CPR certify.
  • Dispense and administer medication to patients according to AMAP policies and procedures.

Health aide vs direct care aide skills

Common health aide skills
  • Patients, 32%
  • Home Health, 20%
  • Community Health, 7%
  • Vital Signs, 5%
  • Patient Care, 5%
  • CPR, 5%
Common direct care aide skills
  • Home Health, 17%
  • Foster Care, 10%
  • CPR, 9%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Meal Prep, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%

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