What personal care tasks are home health aides trained for?

Home health aides are trained in hands-on personal care tasks such as bed baths, tub or shower bathing, hair shampooing, nail and skin care, oral hygiene, and help with toileting. Their duties also include simple procedures that extend therapy or nursing services, help with ambulation or exercises, and help with medications a patient would normally take on their own.

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The personal care list

Federal rule requires a home health aide training program to cover appropriate and safe techniques for a specific set of personal hygiene and grooming tasks, spelled out individually rather than left general.

• Bed bath
• Sponge, tub, and shower bath
• Hair shampooing in sink, tub, and bed
• Nail and skin care
• Oral hygiene
• Toileting and elimination

Beyond basic hygiene help

The same federal rule lists broader duties for a home health aide: the provision of hands-on personal care, the performance of simple procedures as an extension of therapy or nursing services, assistance in ambulation or exercises, and assistance administering medications ordinarily self-administered.

Every one of these services has to be ordered by the physician or allowed practitioner, included in the patient’s plan of care, permitted under state law, and consistent with the aide’s actual training.

Connecticut’s own list lines up closely

Connecticut’s homemaker-home health aide curriculum names a similar set of required elements, including normal range of motion and positioning and adequate nutrition and fluid intake, alongside communication skills and infection control, so a Connecticut-trained aide is learning much the same ground as the federal list covers.

More questions

Can a home health aide give medications on their own judgment?

Only for medications a patient ordinarily self-administers, and only as part of services ordered by a physician and included in the plan of care.

Does personal care training include help with moving around the house?

Yes, assistance in ambulation or exercises is listed among a home health aide’s core duties under federal rule.

Does Connecticut train aides in the same tasks as the federal list?

Yes, Connecticut’s own required curriculum covers much of the same ground, including positioning and nutrition support.

Sources

1. § 484.80 Condition of participation: Home health aide services., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
2. Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, Title 19, Sec. 19-13-D69 (Services), Connecticut Department of Public Health / Secretary of the State

Checked against these sources on November 6, 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the source before you rely on a detail. This page is general information, not legal advice.