I
was privileged to receive a review copy of the Home Health Aide: Guidelines for Care, Instructor Manual Third Edition, ©2020. I can’t say enough about this manual, I love every aspect of it! The manual is comprehensive and lives up to high standards typically associated with Tina Marrelli. Tina is often referred to as the guru of home health and hospice care. This manual should help you provide the best practice evidence for on-boarding, orientation, ongoing education and evaluations of your home health aides. It offers great suggestions for job descriptions, competencies, compliance, care planning, communication and expectations for safe, effective, quality patient care and outcomes.
As the population ages, the needs in home health care and hospice will continue to expand exponentially. The aides are the “eyes and ears of the team” and need to have the best quality preparation for their role. This manual has been edited and updated to meet the growing needs of patients as well as the healthcare team. The manual is equally as beneficial to vocational schools and community colleges who provide programs to educate and certify nursing assistants and home health or hospice aides.
Recruitment and Retention
Home health aides and certified nursing assistants employed in home health and hospice care are required by Federal regulations to obtain a minimum of 12 hours of continuing education each year for a total of 24 hours in each two-year certification period. In addition, the regulations in each state can vary widely from this on a state by state basis. This includes restrictions on online education. Employers who offer ceus can use this as a strong, competitive recruitment and retention tool. Some employers are even beginning to offer free ceus based on point systems. Points can be earned for merit-based data such as perfect attendance, accurate and timely documentation, and a lack of patient/family complaints for specified periods of time such as monthly or quarterly.
For continuing education and staff development
Developing quality ongoing ceus can be taxing for your education department. Tina Marrelli MSN, MA, RN, FAAN and Home Health Care Consultant and award-winning author, recently published the Third Edition of the Home Health Aide: Guidelines for Care, Instructor Manual. The manual includes a full curriculum to prepare and continue the education of aides which will ultimately enhance the quality of patient care.
There are over 350 pages of lesson plans for specific patient populations. The lesson plans provide the suggested topic, time frame and general information about the topic. Learning objectives are outlined. The lesson content provides definition, background information, characteristics, and education on screening for the problem. Home health care considerations such as goals for care, safety considerations, documentation tips are provided. Learning activities include suggested lecture content, patient scenario, and use of guest lecturers on specified related aspects. A unit review and post-test for evaluation are also included along with a list of additional resources.
The manual also includes comprehensive competency evaluation and skills demonstration checklists. Theses will be helpful for hiring and annual review of your HHAs with competency checklists for the 12 primary skills. The manual also includes a test bank of questions for written competency evaluation.
Copyright policy for Instructor Manual
As with any publication, the manual is subject to U.S. Copyright Law with Registration Number 2411. Marrelli and Associates grants a limited right solely to the original purchaser of the manual to use at the purchaser’s single address. Agencies or schools who wish to use the materials at additional locations need separate copies of the manual. One should be purchased for each location. Inquiries for specific written permission to use can be addressed to Marrelli and Associates.
The manual can be purchased from WWW. Marrelli.com for $349.95 each. I strongly recommend you add it to your professional library.
More from Marrelli and Associates
Don’t forget to check out the Red Book Hospice Care Planning app. The app is now available on Android as well as Apple devices through the Google Play and Apple App stores. It’s a huge time management life saver! View the how to guide online.
Congratulations are due to Tina… Her book, A Comprehensive Guide to Caregiving at Home was recently awarded 2019 Today’s 
Friendly Caregiver Award from Caregiver.com. Please check it out at Marrelli.com!
Full disclosure: I have no financial involvement. I just LOVE everything Tina Marrelli does!
