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How to hire a home health aid

Home health aid hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring home health aids in the United States:

  • There are a total of 512,828 home health aids in the US, and there are currently 248,490 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire a home health aid is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per home health aid on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • New York, NY, has the highest demand for home health aids, with 430 job openings.

How to hire a home health aid, step by step

To hire a home health aid, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a home health aid, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step home health aid hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a home health aid job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new home health aid
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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.

Learn more about the specifics of what a home health aid does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you post your home health aid job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a home health aid for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a home health aid to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a home health aid that fits the bill.

    This list presents home health aid salaries for various positions.

    Type of Home Health AidDescriptionHourly rate
    Home Health AidHome health aides help people with disabilities, chronic illness, or cognitive impairment with activities of daily living. They often help older adults who need assistance... Show more$9-17
    SitterA 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... Show more$9-18
    Attending, Ambulatory CareAn attending, ambulatory care is responsible for providing patient care, supporting ongoing treatment of health issues, and managing recovery through coordinating with attending physicians or other medical professionals. They evaluate medical records, including history and consultation purposes, develop a necessary care plan, keep an accurate medical chart, and schedule laboratory tests and follow-up as needed... Show more$9-20
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Home Health
    • Patients
    • Companionship
    • Patient Care
    • HHA
    • CPR
    • In-Home Care
    • Meal Prep
    • Care Plan
    • Vital Signs
    • Good Judgment
    • RUN Errands
    • Laundry Services
    • Blood Pressure
    Check all skills
    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.
    More home health aid duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your home health aid job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A home health aid salary can vary based on several factors:
    • Location. For example, home health aids' average salary in alabama is 41% less than in massachusetts.
    • Seniority. Entry-level home health aids earn 44% less than senior-level home health aids.
    • Certifications. A home health aid with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a home health aid's salary.

    Average home health aid salary

    $13.10hourly

    $27,249 yearly

    Entry-level home health aid salary
    $20,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 29, 2025

    Average home health aid salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Massachusetts$34,360$17
    2Washington$34,263$16
    3New Hampshire$33,363$16
    4Minnesota$33,313$16
    5New York$33,071$16
    6Oregon$32,477$16
    7Maine$32,319$16
    8New Jersey$31,336$15
    9South Dakota$30,510$15
    10Delaware$30,015$14
    11Illinois$29,372$14
    12Wisconsin$28,868$14
    13Michigan$28,414$14
    14Colorado$28,290$14
    15Pennsylvania$28,016$13
    16Ohio$27,574$13
    17California$25,351$12
    18Indiana$24,849$12
    19Nebraska$24,743$12
    20Virginia$24,627$12

    Average home health aid salary by company

  4. Writing a home health aid job description

    A home health aid job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a home health aid job description:

    Home health aid job description example

    US-OR-Portland

    Type: Regular Full-Time
    NE Davis Building

    Overview

    Being a home health aide for hospice patients takes a special kind of individual, one who can coordinate daily activities and needs while giving patients an aura of normalcy and comfort in their own homes. Practically, this role involves participating as a member of the Hospice Interdisciplinary Group under the direction of a registered nurse/licensed practical nurse as defined by Standards for the Certified Nursing Assistant {(OAR 851-60-000-851-60-800) Nurse Practice Act (10/97)}. On a human level, it's about treating in-home hospice patients with the dignity and compassion they deserve. If you believe you're the type of special individual we seek for this role, we invite you to contact us.

    Are you looking for a CNA opportunity with a different schedule or at another Legacy Health location? Please click here to see a list of other openings.



    Responsibilities

    Patient Care

    Provides care delegated and supervised by a registered nurse to meet the needs of clients determined both initially and at two week intervals.

    Participates in the development and implementation of the plan of care as delegated.

    Organizes and adapts plan of care with consideration for patient/client and family needs, desires and routines.

    Demonstrates awareness and reinforces priorities in the plan of care.

    Encourages self-care and independence as appropriate.

    Identifies normal and abnormal mental function and demonstrates skills for addressing the needs and behaviors of the cognitively impaired.

    Cares for and maintains client's environment by avoiding environmental hazards, using restraints properly, and consistently using infection control procedures and barriers.

    Recognizes abnormal signs and symptoms of common disease conditions and communicates accurately and with timeliness.

    Provides and maintains basic nutrition and oral fluid intake.

    Recognizes emergencies and responds demonstrating knowledge of emergency procedures.

    Completes documentation according to guidelines.

    Competency

    Demonstrates knowledge of statutes and regulations and functions within the legal boundaries of certified nursing assistant practice.

    Achieves and maintains clinical competency by:

    Maintaining current certification.

    Performing acts within the authorized scope of practice for which the individual is certified.

    Demonstrating on-going competency in performance of the following technical skills:

    TPR & BP

    Simple wound care as delegated by primary RN

    Colostomy bag removal and application

    ROM, transfer, ambulation

    Assistance with medications that are ordinarily self-administered

    Performing tasks or procedures after presenting written and documented education and/or clinical experience.



    Qualifications

    Education:

    Completion of a Board approved nursing assistant training program

    LEGACY'S VALUES IN ACTION:

    Follows guidelines set forth in Legacy's Values in Action

    Equal Opportunity Employer/Vet/Disabled



    PI193358963

  5. Post your job

    To find the right home health aid for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with home health aids they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit home health aids who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your home health aid job on Zippia to find and recruit home health aid candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit home health aids, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new home health aid

    Once you have selected a candidate for the home health aid position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

    It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new home health aid. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a home health aid?

Before you start to hire home health aids, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire home health aids pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $27,249 per year for a home health aid, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for home health aids in the US typically range between $9 and $17 an hour.

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