Health care administrator vs care associate

The differences between health care administrators and care associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a health care administrator, becoming a care associate takes usually requires 1-3 months. Additionally, a health care administrator has an average salary of $68,187, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.

The top three skills for a health care administrator include patients, patient care and health care services. The most important skills for a care associate are patients, vital signs, and PCA.

Health care administrator vs care associate overview

	Health Care Administrator	Care Associate
Yearly salary	$68,187	$32,558
Hourly rate	$32.78	$15.65
Growth rate	11%	9%
Number of jobs	161,949	192,391
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	45	42
Years of experience	12	3

What does a health care administrator do?

A health care administrator is primarily in charge of overseeing the daily administrative operations of medical and health care facilities. They are responsible for setting objectives, establishing guidelines and employee schedules, maintaining accurate records, gathering and analyzing data, developing strategies to optimize operations, and coordinating with nurses, physicians, patients, and other health care experts. Moreover, as a health care administrator, it is essential to address and resolve issues and concerns, implement the facility's policies and regulations, and ensure that procedures comply with health care laws and standards.

What does a care associate do?

Patient care associates typically work at different healthcare settings where their primary job is to provide basic patient needs and comfort. They are also responsible for several patient care tasks, including bathing patients, changing the pillows and bedsheets of patients, and serving patients' meals. They should comply with safety protocols when performing these tasks. Some of them can give patients medication depending on the level of their training. To become a patient care specialist, one should possess several skills, such as good communication.

Health care administrator vs care associate salary

Health care administrators and care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Care Administrator	Care Associate
Average salary	$68,187	$32,558
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $95,000	Between $21,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Hollister, CA
Highest paying state	Nevada	Hawaii
Best paying company	One Brooklyn Health	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	Professional	Health Care

Differences between health care administrator and care associate education

There are a few differences between a health care administrator and a care associate in terms of educational background:

	Health Care Administrator	Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Health care administrator vs care associate demographics

Here are the differences between health care administrators' and care associates' demographics:

	Health Care Administrator	Care Associate
Average age	45	42
Gender ratio	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between health care administrator and care associate duties and responsibilities

Health care administrator example responsibilities.

Research and resolve recipients complaints relate to Medicaid service limitations, accessibility of MediPass manage services and provider treatment of recipients.
Interview prospective adopters and communicate the pet's needs.
Design training for EMR implementation for staff and medical providers.
Oversee pet care technician staff and report issues to management.
Utilize electronic medical records (EMR) technology for military members.
Supervise the maintenance and safeguarding of medical records and compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

Health care administrator vs care associate skills

Common health care administrator skills

Patients, 26%
Patient Care, 9%
Health Care Services, 6%
Home Health, 6%
Mental Health, 6%
Vital Signs, 4%

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Health Care Administrator
Health Care Administrator vs Care Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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