26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides

What this rule requires your agency to do

• 1If LVN instructors are used, ensure an RN with the required experience supervises and retains overall responsibility for training and supervision of all aide students, and assess that the student can read/write English and carry out directions (subsec. (d)(3)-(4)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 2Use a home health aide only if the aide meets one of the qualification pathways: one year of institutional or agency direct-care experience, satisfactory completion of a compliant training-and-competency or competency evaluation program, documented nursing-student competency, or NAR listing with no abuse/neglect/misappropriation finding (subsec. (a)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 3Perform assignment, delegation, and supervision of aide services in accordance with the rules governing the agency's license category (subsec. (c)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 4Ensure an aide qualifying via a competency or training-and-competency program provided home health services within the previous 24 months (subsec. (b)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 5Cover the required classroom/clinical content, including communication; observation/reporting/documentation; vital signs; infection control and universal precautions; body functioning; safe environment; emergency recognition; client needs and rights/privacy; personal hygiene and grooming; safe transfer and ambulation; range of motion/positioning; nutrition/fluid intake; delegated tasks per §558.298; and the rights of the elderly (subsec. (e)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 6If an aide receives an unsatisfactory rating on a task, do not let the aide perform that task without direct RN/LVN supervision until the aide is retrained and passes a subsequent competency evaluation on that task, and advise any individual who fails of the inadequate areas (subsec. (f)(6)-(7)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 7Have an RN perform the competency evaluation covering the required subjects, with skill areas evaluated by direct observation, and treat an aide with an unsatisfactory rating in more than one required area as not having completed the evaluation (subsec. (f)(1)-(5)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)
• 8Conduct the training portion by or under general supervision of an RN with at least two years of nursing experience (at least one year in home health), delivering a minimum of 75 hours including at least 16 hours of clinical experience, with at least 16 hours of classroom training completed before the aide begins direct client clinical work (subsec. (d)(1)-(2)).(26 TAC 558.701 — Home Health Aides)