Post job

Home health aid vs sitter

The differences between home health aids and sitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sitter has an average salary of $28,724, which is higher than the $27,249 average annual salary of a home health aid.

The top three skills for a home health aid include home health, patients and companionship. The most important skills for a sitter are patients, kids, and CPR.

Home health aid vs sitter overview

Home Health AidSitter
Yearly salary$27,249$28,724
Hourly rate$13.10$13.81
Growth rate36%36%
Number of jobs248,49085,152
Job satisfaction4.29-
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 32%High School Diploma, 32%
Average age5048
Years of experience--

What does a home health aid do?

Home health aides provide care and assistance to patients who have chronic illnesses, injuries, disabilities, or age-related challenges inside the patient's home. They monitor the patient's condition and help them in any activity they may need assistance in. They provide support to both the patient and the family to manage the patient's condition. Home health aides care for the patient by providing personal services like bathing and basic grooming, designing nutritional plans, cooking and preparing meals, running errands, maintaining the cleanliness of the home, managing medication intake, and ensuring the home is safe and secure for the patient.

What does a sitter do?

A sitter is responsible for assisting medical needs under the supervision of an attending physician, registered nurses, and other health professionals. Sitters monitor the patients' daily activities and perform medical duties such as taking the patient's temperature, administering medications, monitoring food intake, helping with bathing needs, and responding to the patients' inquiries, concerns, and requests. They also keep track of medical charts to report the patients' health condition and progress to the senior staff.

Home health aid vs sitter salary

Home health aids and sitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Home Health AidSitter
Average salary$27,249$28,724
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $36,000Between $20,000 And $39,000
Highest paying CityReading, MAFair Lawn, NJ
Highest paying stateMassachusettsMassachusetts
Best paying companySt. Jude Children's Research HospitalSouthcoast Health
Best paying industryHealth CareNon Profits

Differences between home health aid and sitter education

There are a few differences between a home health aid and a sitter in terms of educational background:

Home Health AidSitter
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 32%High School Diploma, 32%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common college--

Home health aid vs sitter demographics

Here are the differences between home health aids' and sitters' demographics:

Home Health AidSitter
Average age5048
Gender ratioMale, 13.6% Female, 86.4%Male, 13.9% Female, 86.1%
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, 17.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 8.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage5%7%

Differences between home health aid and sitter duties and responsibilities

Home health aid example responsibilities.

  • Clean house, cook, run errands, take to doctor appointments
  • Prepare for HIPAA and JCAHO reviews, ensuring require brochures and pamphlets are available to patients in all clinics.
  • Conduct insurance verifications for Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance patients.
  • Perform ADL's, medication administration, pulmonary therapy, daily physiotherapy.
  • Provide physical and emotional support and companionship to senior adults in degenerative loss of memory and/or motor functions.
  • Obtain household supplies and run daily errands.
  • Show more

Sitter example responsibilities.

  • Run groceries or medical errands for patients.
  • Complete light housekeeping duties, such as dishes, folding laundry, buying groceries.
  • Help out with regular ADL's as well such as bathing, ambulating, eating, dressing, and exercise.
  • Assist with ADL's; bathing needs, food prep, exercise, drive and assist with appointments, light housekeeping
  • Provide colostomy care and administer medication for pain management in accordance with current physician recommendations.
  • Help nursing with flushing of catheters with certain residents.
  • Show more

Home health aid vs sitter skills

Common home health aid skills
  • Home Health, 22%
  • Patients, 13%
  • Companionship, 7%
  • Patient Care, 5%
  • HHA, 5%
  • CPR, 4%
Common sitter skills
  • Patients, 26%
  • Kids, 20%
  • CPR, 13%
  • Patient Safety, 6%
  • Home Health, 5%
  • PET, 5%

Browse healthcare support jobs