In response to a recent solicitation for comments from the federal government, PHI recommended changes to the three main categories used to track direct-care workers at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The government considers revisions to its Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) categories every ten years.
PHI recommends that the government’s three occupational categories for direct-care workers be changed as follows:
- Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants. Split this category into two, separating those who provide hands-on patient care under the direction of nursing staff (nursing aides) from those who do not (orderlies and attendants).
- Home Health Aides. Change the description of their duties to reflect increased responsibilities, including monitoring of health status, feeding, toileting, ambulation, medication management and administration, and also sometimes non-health care related tasks such as preparing meals, housekeeping, and laundry.
- Personal and Home Care Aides. Update the description of their duties to reflect the broader range of tasks they perform, and to refer to the range of populations they serve: older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people who are convalescing, and people living with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. Also, change the occupational title – to Personal Care Assistants – to make it more current with the terminology that is developing within the long-term care industry.
Read more on the PHI blog here.
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