How to Become a Home Health Aide in Montana (Requirements & Schools)

If you want to learn more about what it takes to become a home health aide in Montana, this is the guide for you!

Ideal Candidate

Since not everyone is made for this position, you have to make sure you have some mandatory qualities and skills for the field.

These include:

• Being compassionate
• Being dependable
• Being respectful
• Being healthy
• Being physically strong
• Being tech-savvy
• Having a driver’s license

There are some other abilities to consider, but they’ll be generally needed on a case by case basis.

These could be:

• Being able to cook
• Speaking a different language
• Being good with pets

In some cases, home health aides will have to learn new skills depending on the circumstances of those they will work with.

Duties

These are the basic duties a home health aide is expected to complete:

• Identify environmental hazards,
• Identifying fire escape routes,
• Shopping for special diets,
• Using the ambulation equipment in a home setting,
• Doing the laundry

The duties make it clear why those characteristics are important.

Training Requirements

In Montana, just like in most other states, you’ll have to undergo some training before being able to work.

The difference is that in this state the home health aides will need more training than certified nurse assistants.

As such, CNAs need to attend programs that are at least 75 hours long while HHAs need to train for a minimum of 91 hours.

Future home health aides will need to learn:

• Several nurse tasks
• Patient rights and needs
• Personal care
• Safety and emergency care
• Infection control
• Death and dying
• Nutrition

The personal care aspect has many facets, such as:

• special skincare,
• turning and positioning,
• Care of glasses and hearing aides,
• Application of anti-embolic stockings.

You can choose one of the schools below when you decide to enroll in a training program approved by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.

Each of these institutions has some requirements when it comes to enrollment.

As such, a minimum age of 18 is recommended, as well as having a high school diploma or GED.

Some of these institutions are high schools and this means the requirements there may be different.

Additionally, the candidates are required to prove they can read and write in English, and even prove a passing grade in math.

Once the training is complete, individuals have to pass an exam.

The exam has a skills component as well.

Employment and Salary Details

To find a job as a home health aide in Montana, you’ll have to register with the state after completing your training.

These are some of the best agencies to apply to after you earn your credentials:

• Partners in Home Care Inc. (Missoula location)
• Riverstone Health (Billings location)

What you should know about the home health sector, is that the aides can be hired by agencies, hospices, hospitals.

They’re either paid through Medicare or Medicaid which are federal entities, or directly by the person seeking such home aides.

In Billings and Miles City, the average salaries are higher than in the rest of the state.

Regional Salary in Montana

Other information

In Montana, there are special HHAs that offer respite care.

Respite care is when the person already has someone at home to help them with daily life, but they need extra help.

It’s highly possible that extra classes will be needed for those who want to become respite caregivers.

HHA Schools by State