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Healthcare Careers
Author: Max Stein
One of the fastest growing sectors of the medical industry is
that of home health. There are many reasons for this growth, but
most important are: The number of aging and infirm citizens in
the country.
The lower cost of care in relation to hospitals and long term
care facilities.
The fact health providers consider home care to be the most
humane and compassionate form of care.
Because of the rapid growth in this category of healthcare, a
variety of employment opportunities have become available. Many
hospitals are turning to home health as a method to recapture
revenue that would be otherwise lost. Despite the efforts of
hospitals to enter the home care market, private companies
dominate home health. Since these are primarily businesses that
have not been in existence for long, they need to hire not only
for in home providers, but also for support and administrative
positions.
The future demand for home care will be staggering. In 1997,
over 22.4 million households provided home care to a loved one
over 50. Over time, this drain on physical and emotional
resources will result in a desire for outside help in the home.
Additionally, Medicare funding of short term home health care is
projected to more than double by 2010. Meanwhile, workers
employed in the home health field actually dropped by 29,000 in
2000. The projected employment outlook for just home health
aides leads all medical job categories at a whopping 66.8%!
One may think the vast majority of home health related jobs are
lower paying aide jobs. Fortunately, this is not the case. As
previously mentioned, private home health companies will need to
increase their administrative and support positions like medical
coders, accounting and billing, medical secretaries, nurse
managers, shift schedulers, information technology and
marketing. Working for a home health company doesn't necessarily
dictate providing direct patient care.
Even among the patient care positions, there is a lot of
variety. Though patient care is primarily provided by lower paid
home health aides; as demand increases, wages are expected to
rise. There are also a lot of opportunities for CNAs, LPNs and
registered nurses (RNs). Some patients only require short term
care - a few hours a day, or for a fixed period of time. Others
require long term care - 24/7 for the rest of their lives.
The bottom line is, there are a lot of employment opportunities
in the field of home healthcare. The best paying jobs will be
those that require some post secondary training. There is also a
lot of variety of work needed, not all employment will provide
patient care. If you want a solid future, in one of the most
stable industries in the country, studying to be part of the
home healthcare market is a wise choice.
Home Healthcare Job Fields
Certified Nurses Aid - CNA LPN Registered Nurse Physician's
Assistant Nurse Manager Medical Coder Medical Secretary Medical
Administration Information Technology Sales and Marketing
Operations Manager
Find a school in your area - www.top-colleges.com
About the author:
Max Stein is a freelance writer who writes about business,
education and marketing. maxstein_9@hotmail.com
www.degreesource.com
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