Personal Care Aides and Home Care Aides

Personal Care Aides and Home Care Aides, referred to as Homemakers, are in high demand in Western Massachusetts as more persons with disabilities and elders choose to stay at home instead of living in a residential care setting.

Personal and Home Care Aides help people with disabilities – chronic or mental illness and elders with their daily living activities in the person’s own home.  These positions offer significant scheduling flexibility as they are most frequently hourly, part-time positions.

• Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) are hired by the consumer (or a consumer’s surrogate) to provide assistance to the consumer in the consumer’s home.  PCAs are supervised by the consumer or surrogate.  PCAs provide personal care services to clients such as bathing, dressing, foot care, denture care, bedpan routines, eating, and assistance with ambulation and transfers. 
• Homemakers are employed by home care agencies to provide daily care to elder and disabled clients in the homes.  Homemakers assist clients with tasks such as shopping, meal planning, meal preparation, laundry, and light housekeeping.

• Personal Care Homemakers are also employed by home care agencies to provide the homemaking tasks (shopping, meal planning, meal preparation, laundry, and light housekeeping).  In addition, they also provide personal care services to clients such as bathing, dressing, foot care, denture care, bedpan routines, eating, and assistance with ambulation and transfers, and medication reminders

Training Requirements

• Personal Care Attendants require no formal training.  Training is provided by the consumer or surrogate.

• Homemakers require 3 hour orientation followed by 37 hours of training during the first 6 months of employment.

• Personal care homemakers require 60 hour of initial training which includes the 40 hours of homemaker training plus 20 hours of personal care training. 

Travel Requirements

• PCAs may have to travel between clients.  However, travel requirements will vary depending how many clients they serve, the needs of their consumer employer, etc.
• Homemakers and Personal Care Homemakers can be assigned to provide care to 4 to 5 different clients in one day.  Homemakers and Personal Care Homemakers must have reliable transportation (have your own car or use public transportation) and be willing to travel from house to house to serve multiple clients.