Health Care Aide Day was established on October 18 by the Canadian province of Manitoba to honour healthcare assistants. Since these skilled professionals work around the clock and in a variety of settings (from acute care to home-, community-, and residential care), they are always available to care for the sickest and most in need members of society. In Manitoba, there were over 8,000 healthcare assistants, but that number has increased significantly in recent years. In any public healthcare system, medical assistants are essential.
The background of Health Care Aide Day
In the nineteenth century, hospitals were the sole providers of care for the ill and disabled. Not until the early 20th century did the concept of sending trained medical personnel to places where ill people were confined gain momentum. MetLife introduced its first home health insurance policy in 1909, forever altering the landscape of healthcare. Over a million visits to home health care were covered by the insurance over the next 15 years. The incidence of communicable diseases declined, and it was evident that this new form of healthcare improved both quality and duration of life.
In 1963, when Dame Cicely Saunders delivered a lecture at Yale University on the concept of specialised end-of-life care, the home healthcare profession was further established. Two years later, Florence Wald, dean of the Yale School of Nursing, invited Dr. Saunders to join the faculty. In 1967, Dr. Saunders established the first hospice centre, St. Christopher’s Hospice, in the United Kingdom, and in 1974, Florence Wald established the first hospice centre in Branford, Connecticut.
The first National Symposium on Hospice Care was held in Connecticut in 1975, and the National Hospice Organisation (NHO) was founded in 1979 to promote the concept of hospice care. In 1982, Congress passed a provision creating a Medicare hospice benefit, and the NHO aired its first television public service announcement. The National Hospice Foundation was founded in 1992.
The passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 resulted in losses for healthcare employees in 1997, especially for healthcare assistants. The Act slashed Medicare home benefits, depriving many in need of access to healthcare assistants. As a consequence, over 3000 home care agencies shut their doors, and home health visits decreased. Since then, however, new payment initiatives and plans have been implemented to make the service more accessible to those in need.
Today, it is evident that healthcare assistants have revolutionised the field. It is incomparably safer, more comfortable, and more dignified to care for the sick and disabled in their own homes as opposed to hospitals. One study from 2004 found that approximately 23 million U.S. households (one in five) provided care for a disabled or needy adult over the age of 18. This care is costly; the National Association for Home Care values it at approximately $257 billion! Trained, professional healthcare assistants can assist in resolving many of our nation’s healthcare problems, and they have throughout their history.
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Five interesting facts about Healthcare Aids
With an ageing population, the demand for home health and personal care assistants is projected to increase by 70 percent between 2010 and 2020.
A few years ago, the average hourly wage for a home healthcare aide sent by a company was only $19; remember, after the agency takes a cut, healthcare workers receive even less.
Even though the Social Security Act was passed by Congress in 1935, home healthcare attendants were not eligible for benefits until the 1950s.
40% of home healthcare aides rely on Medicaid, food stamps, or other government-run public assistance programmes due to their exceedingly low pay and long hours.
In 2001, there were only 6,861 Medicare-certified home healthcare agencies in the United States; today, there are approximately 15,000.
HEALTH CARE AIDE DAY DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | October 18 | Wednesday |
| 2024 | October 18 | Friday |
| 2025 | October 18 | Saturday |
| 2026 | October 18 | Sunday |
| 2027 | October 18 | Monday |
