New Jersey Certified Homemaker-Home Health Aide (CHHA) · Understand the Role
Core Duties
On this page 6 sections
In 30 seconds
CHHAs work in many settings, from a client's own home to long-term care, acute care, subacute care, outpatient services, rehabilitation centers, assisted living, and hospice. Everywhere, the CHHA is unlicensed assistive personnel, which means helping with daily living and home-making rather than making nursing decisions. Home-making tasks can be requested by the client or family or assigned by the registered professional nurse. The nurse writes the plan of care after their assessment, and the CHHA reviews it with the nurse at the start and again every time it changes.
Why this matters
A CHHA who knows where the job can take them, what an unlicensed helper may and may not do, and how the plan of care is reviewed with the nurse can give safe care from the first visit.
The college version
In normal terms
- The CHHA role shows up in many settings, but the edges of the job stay the same everywhere.
- Unlicensed assistive personnel help with everyday needs and housekeeping under a nurse's direction; they do not decide what care is needed.
- The client, the family, or the nurse can ask for home-making help.
- The plan of care is reviewed with the delegating nurse after the assessment and whenever the nurse updates it.
Concepts in this outline
- CHHA work settings: long-term care, acute care, subacute care, outpatient services, rehabilitation centers, home care agencies, assisted living, and hospice. — The kinds of places a CHHA may be employed, from a client's home to facilities providing short-term, long-term, or end-of-life care.
- Role, responsibilities, and scope of unlicensed assistive personnel. — A CHHA is an unlicensed helper who assists with daily living and home-making under a nurse's direction and does not make nursing decisions.
- Home-making activities may be requested or assigned by the client, family, or registered professional nurse. — Light housekeeping, laundry, and simple meal tasks can come from the client, the family, or the nurse.
- Review the plan of care with the delegating registered professional nurse after assessment and whenever the nurse changes the plan. — The nurse writes the plan after the nursing assessment, and the CHHA goes over it with the nurse at the start and again after every update.
Eli explains
The same idea, in plain words
Explain it like I’m 10
Think about a school. It has teachers and classroom helpers. The helper does not write the lesson plan. The teacher does. But the helper makes sure each kid gets what the teacher planned. A CHHA is a lot like that classroom helper.
A CHHA is a certified homemaker-home health aide. That is a trained person who helps clients with everyday needs. The client is the person receiving care. A CHHA might help someone wash, dress, eat, or move safely, and keep the home tidy.
Just like helpers work in different classrooms, CHHAs work in different work settings. A work setting is simply the kind of place where the job happens. Some CHHAs visit clients at home through a home care agency, which is the company that sends them out. Others work in long-term care, where people live for a long time because they need daily help. Acute care means a hospital, where people are sick right now. Subacute care is for people who left the hospital but still need a lot of help before going home. Outpatient services are places people visit for care and then go home the same day. Rehabilitation centers help people get strong again after an injury or illness. Assisted living is housing where people get some help but stay independent. Hospice cares for people who are near the end of life and keeps them comfortable. The building changes, but the helper's job stays the same.
CHHAs are called unlicensed assistive personnel. That long name simply means a helper who does not hold a nursing license. A nurse has a license, so the nurse decides what care a client needs. The CHHA assists with that care but does not make the decisions.
Part of the work is home-making activities. Those are things like light cleaning, laundry, and preparing simple meals. The client, the family, or the registered professional nurse can request or assign these tasks. The nurse is the licensed person in charge of the care.
The most important paper in this job is the plan of care. It is the written list of what the client needs and what the CHHA should do. The nurse writes it after an assessment, which is the nurse's careful check of how the client is doing. The CHHA reads the plan with the nurse, like going over the lesson plan with the teacher. Whenever the nurse changes the plan, the CHHA reviews it again. That way the helper never guesses about today's care.
Worked example
Rosa is a CHHA sent by a home care agency to Mr. Okafor, who lives alone. The registered nurse visited first, completed her assessment, and wrote the plan of care. It lists help with a morning shower, breakfast, and changing the bed sheets. Rosa went over each item with the nurse so she understood what was expected. On her first visit she follows the plan, and Mr. Okafor's daughter asks her to also run a load of towels. Rosa adds that home-making task to her morning because the family requested it.
Two weeks later Mr. Okafor is steadier on his feet, and the nurse changes the plan so he can shower with less help. The nurse calls Rosa, and they review the updated plan together before the next visit. Rosa adjusts what she does and still reports anything unusual, because deciding what care is needed remains the nurse's job.
Study tools & related lessonsRelated
Educational content only. It is not medical, legal or professional advice. Found an error? Tell us.