South Carolina HHA Requirements
How To Become a HHA in SC
In South Carolina, HHA training programs can be as short as 75 hours if they cover required content and include at least 16 hours of practical experience.
The prospective home health aide will need to demonstrate various personal care skills such as bed baths or oral care that is provided. He/she needs transfer, positioning, range-of-motion related knowledge too because it’s a requirement in SC.
In order to receive your home health aide certificate in South Carolina you need to follow the minimum [federal] home health aide education requirements. HHA training programs in SC must consist of:
- at least seventy-five (75) hours of training
- which needs to include at least sixteen (16) hours of clinical training
- plus, there is a requirement to complete twelve (12) hours of continuing education for every twelve (12) months
Search for FREE HHA Training in South Carolina
Best kept secret? Free HHA training is available in South Carolina! The demand is great for home health aides and agencies are offering free training classes; below is an example – be working and making money as a HHA in just weeks!
South Carolina’s somewhat unique distinctions in home health care.
In-home care services in SC
In-home care services are intended to assist individuals with activities of daily living (ADL). These are more personal matters than medical. Example would be walking, getting out of bed, bathing, eating feeding, using the bathroom, etc. They may even supervise self-administered medications.
In-home caregivers do not require supervision from trained and licensed medical personnel.
Those that employ “in-home caregivers” (as defined above) are known as “in-home care providers” and these entities must be licensed by South Carolina.
South Carolina Home Health Services
Home health services in South Carolina are services provided to individuals on a visiting basis and in a place of temporary or permanent residence used as the individual’s home – what are commonly referred to as home health aide services. These are provided under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN).
Entities that provide home health services must obtain a license from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
A home health agency in South Carolina is a “direct care entity”.
What does all this mean?
In order to be a home health aide in SC, the HHA must take these steps:
Training
The HHA must successfully complete a training program with classroom and supervised practical training totaling at least 75 hours, with at least 16 hours devoted to supervised practical training. The HHA must complete at least 16 hours of classroom training before beginning the supervised practical training.
Each of the following subject areas must be addressed in the training:
- Communications skills
- Observation, reporting and documentation of patient status and the care or service furnished
- Reading and recording temperature, pulse, and respiration
- Basic infection control procedures
- Basic elements of body functioning and changes in body function that must be reported to an aide’s supervisor
- Maintenance of a clean, safe, and healthy environment
- Recognizing emergencies and knowledge of emergency procedures
- The physical, emotional, and developmental needs of patients; includes the need for respect for the patient, his or her privacy and his or her property
- Appropriate and safe techniques in personal hygiene and grooming
- Safe transfer techniques and ambulation
- Normal range of motion and positioning
- Adequate nutrition and fluid intake
- Any other task that the agency may choose to have the home health aide perform
‘‘Supervised practical training’’, the 16 hours referred to above, means training in a laboratory or other setting in which the trainee demonstrates knowledge while actually performing tasks on an individual (or mannequin) under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse.
Competency Evaluation
An individual may furnish home health aide services in South Carolina on behalf of an agency only after they successfully completing a competency evaluation program.
It is the responsibility of the agency to ensure the individual meets the competency evaluation requirements (as defined above).
Reviews / Further Training
Home health aides are subject to a performance review no less frequently than every twelve (12) months and the aide must receive at least twelve (12) hours of in-service training during each 12-month period.
Passing/Failing
A home health aide is not considered competent in any task for which he or she is evaluated as ‘‘unsatisfactory’’.
The aide must not perform that task without direct supervision by a licensed nurse until after he or she receives training in the task for which he or she was evaluated as ‘‘unsatisfactory’’ and passes a subsequent evaluation with ‘‘satisfactory’’.
South Carolina HHA Resources
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Here’s our search tool to find South Carolina HHA agencies and FREE training classes near you!
- Get started as a South Carolina home health aide in 4 weeks.
- Learn how to pass the South Carolina HHA exam.
- NEW: South Carolina food stamp recipients (also called SNAP) can get free HHA training!
- The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) has some great resources – one of the best!
- Information for direct caregivers in South Carolina regarding background checks; pretty standard: “Direct care staff / volunteers shall not have prior conviction(s) of child or patient or elder abuse, neglect or mistreatment.”
- South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is the first place to start for health related services and resources in South Carolina.
Here’s the federal code Section 484.80 South Carolina follows.
