Position Overview
Certified hospice aides provide personal care services to terminally ill patients by assisting them with housekeeping and personal care work.
They perform duties such as changing beds and clothes, bathing patients, helping with hygiene routines,, and dressing wounds.
Hospice aides also assist with patients’ nutritional needs by ensuring that their food is cooked according to their specific needs and to make sure that they eat their food on time.
Moreover, they are responsible for making sure that patients take their medicines on time – if there are any IVs due, they make sure that they coordinate with the nursing professionals accountable for ensuring this.
Besides, family assistance is another responsibility of a certified hospice aide. He or she is responsible for providing information to patients’ families regarding the condition of the patient and providing emotional support.
See also: Sample Resume for Hospice Aide
Certified Hospice Aide Duties and Responsibilities
• Provide personal care such as bathing, changing, and grooming to patients.
• Promote independence by encouraging patients to be self-sufficient where possible.
• Provide medication reminders to patients and coordinate efforts with nursing personnel to ensure that IVs are managed on time.
• Ensure patients’ oral hygiene and availability of clean clothes and linen at all times.
• Perform light housekeeping duties to ensure a safe environment.
• Assist patients in dressing and undressing.
• Plan and prepare meals according to each patient’s specific nutritional needs.
• Make sure that appropriate skincare is provided to patients to avoid diseases or bed sores.
• Monitor and assess conditions and report significant findings to doctors.
• Assist with self-administered medications such as insulin and provide support in using bedpans and urinals.
• Provide comfort to patients and their families and ensure that the family is aware of patients’ conditions and limitations.
• Accompany patients on recreational activities and doctors’ appointments and provide them with emotional support by engaging them in positive conversation.
• Reposition and turn bedridden patients by ensuring that their dignity is maintained.