Become a Home Health Administrator
A home health administrator is a professional who supervises clinical staff members who provide medical treatment to in-home patients, as well as employees who perform clerical functions. These workers may manage a home health agency or oversee daily operations of an assisted living or nursing home facility. They may also supervise workers who perform health care services in individuals' homes. Home health administrators are responsible for improving the quality of healthcare provided, ensuring the facility where they work is in compliance with healthcare laws and regulations, and overseeing financial expenditures. They may also work on expanding the client base, negotiating with insurance companies, and evaluating staff members. Weekend, evening, or overnight work hours might be required, although the administrative core of this job tends to fall primarily within regular working hours as long as no crises arise.
Alternate Job Titles
Home health administrators go by several similar titles. These include home health care administrator, healthcare administrators, medical and health services managers, and home healthcare supervisors. Be sure that any educational programs you are researching are talking about the kind of career that interests you. This job is not the same thing as a home health care aide, which is a position that requires a lot more face-to-face contact with patients and involves actual care rather than supervision and administration.
Career Requirements
| Degree Level | Bachelor's degree required; master's degree very common |
| Degree Field | Healthcare or long-term care administration, public health, or public administration |
| Licensure and Certification | All states require licensure for nursing home administrators; some states require licensure for administrators of assisted-living facilities; voluntary certification available |
| Experience | Varies; could be as little as one year of supervisory experience or up to five years of experience |
| Key Skills | Communication, interpersonal, critical-thinking, good judgment and decision-making, problem-solving, and technical skills; ability to manage personnel and use medical software |
| Salary | $62,302 per year (2020 median salary for all home health administrators) |
| Job Outlook | 32% growth projected between 2019 and 2029 (for all medical and health services managers) |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*Net OnLine, Payscale.com (December 2020)
Let's examine some steps to becoming a home health administrator.
Steps to Become a Home Health Care Administrator
Step 1: Obtain a Degree in a Healthcare-Related Field
Home health administrator training begins with formal education. Most employers prefer to hire home health administrators who possess a master's degree in a closely related area, such as healthcare administration. Coursework in these programs can include healthcare finance, healthcare law, and health policy, many of which function as home health administrator courses. Smaller companies may accept home health administrators who only have a bachelor's degree. In many cases, these are entry-level positions managing a small group of clinical staff. Having a bachelor's in healthcare administration may also help with getting a middle management position at larger companies.
Step 2: Research Different Home Health Options
A number of options are available to home health administrators, including working for home health agencies, nursing home facilities, or home health equipment companies. A common option is working for hospice organizations. Hospice administrators working with terminal patients have slightly different responsibilities than administrators at other types of organizations. For instance, all hospice providers have to abide by state and federal laws regarding levels of care and confidentiality. Since some hospices are non-profit organizations, there are also different government regulations in regards to methods of funding, employment, and reporting. Some administrator training for home health care professionals is provided on the job.
Success Tip:
Research home health administrator license requirements. Some administrators, such as those who work for nursing homes, are required to be licensed. Requirements for licensure can vary by state.
Step 3: Gain Experience in the Field
Building experience as a home health administrative assistant is a traditional way of climbing the ladder. Healthcare companies may prefer to promote from within because less training is required. Some home health administrators start out as nurses and acquire administrative experience on the job. Other nurses go on to earn a degree in health administration, qualifying them to manage home care facilities.
Step 4: Consider Home Health Administrator Certification
In addition to licensure, a professional certification can further demonstrate proficiency in the field. Types of home health administrator certification available include the Certified Nursing Home Administrator (CNHA) and Certified Assisted Living Administrator (CALA) credentials offered by the American College of Health Care Administrators. Both designations typically require current licensure, at least two years of administrator experience, a bachelor's degree, and a minimum of 40 hours of continuing education credits.
Becoming a home health administrator requires a bachelor's or master's degree and experience as a home health administrative assistant or nurse.
Required Skills for Home Health Administrators
Skills that home health care administrators may benefit from include but are not limited to the following:
- Excellent organizational skills
- Personnel management skills
- Attention to detail
- Communication skills
- Compassion
- Patience
- Understanding of medical requirements patients may have
- Up-to-date knowledge of best practice in the field
Job Benefits and Challenges
There are numerous benefits to this career that may be appealing to those aiming to become health care administrators. The salary for this job is significantly higher than the average U.S. salary, and the substantial projected increase in job growth is an excellent measure of the job security home health care administrators are likely to experience. Because this job is largely administrative in nature, it is less physically demanding than many other healthcare jobs. However, face-to-face interaction with patients and staff is also to be expected, which can be a bonus for many people.
There are also downsides and challenges to working in home health care administration. These professionals have an immense responsibility for keeping facilities functioning, which is exacerbated by the fact that the people living in those facilities are often among the most vulnerable members of a population. Working in hospice care in any capacity can be emotionally challenging, even for those who are not caring directly for patients. Some people may find the idea of doing extensive administration work less interesting than the idea of a job with more patient interaction, and this is certainly something to consider when embarking on this career.
