Home Health Aide (HHA) Training

What this program covers

Our Home Health Aide program builds on your CNA training with the day-to-day skills of in-home caregiving: bathing and grooming assistance, safe transfers and mobility support, meal preparation and feeding assistance, light housekeeping related to client care, basic vital signs, and recognizing when a client needs a nurse or emergency response. Instruction is hands-on and practical, built around the real situations aides encounter in a client's home rather than a facility.

Who this is for

This program is for active Certified Nursing Assistants who want to add in-home care to their scope of work. Caring for a client at home requires more independent judgment than working alongside a facility team, which is why we require the clinical foundation of CNA certification and current life support training before you enroll.

Prerequisites

You must hold an active California CNA certification and a current BLS (Basic Life Support) card before enrolling. If you earned either credential elsewhere, bring proof of both when you register. Need the BLS card first? You can complete our AHA BLS course before your HHA start date.

What you'll be able to do

• Assist with bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene
• Support safe mobility, transfers, and fall prevention
• Prepare meals and assist with feeding and nutrition
• Take and record basic vital signs
• Recognize warning signs that require a nurse or emergency response

Serving the greater Sacramento area

Home Health Aide training takes place at our Orangevale campus, convenient to Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Carmichael, and the wider Sacramento area. Active CNAs from across the region add their HHA credential with us without a long commute.

Home Health Aide program overview

Our Home Health Aide (HHA) course is an add-on certification for people who already hold an active California Certified Nursing Assistant certification. It prepares you to provide personal care and support in a client's own home, where the work is more independent than in a facility and the relationships often run deeper. HHA certification in California is administered by the California Department of Public Health, and completing our course adds this credential on top of your CNA.

Because home care happens one on one, away from a nursing station, good judgment and communication matter as much as clinical skill. Our training, led by a Registered Nurse, focuses on exactly that: caring for a client safely and confidently in their home while knowing when and how to escalate a concern.

What a Home Health Aide does

A Home Health Aide helps clients live safely and comfortably at home, often after a hospital stay, during a chronic illness, or as they age in place. Day to day, that can include:

• Personal care such as bathing, grooming, dressing, and toileting
• Helping with mobility, transfers, and positioning to prevent falls and skin breakdown
• Taking and recording vital signs and reporting changes to the supervising nurse
• Assisting with meals, hydration, and simple, safe food preparation
• Supporting a plan of care and keeping accurate notes
• Providing companionship and a watchful eye that helps families feel secure

The exact duties depend on the client's needs and the plan of care set by the agency and nurse. What stays constant is the goal: helping someone keep their dignity and independence at home.

Prerequisites: active CNA certification and a current BLS card

Home Health Aide is an advanced step, not an entry point. To enroll you need an active California CNA certification and a current AHA BLS (CPR) card. The CNA gives you the patient-care foundation the HHA role builds on, and a current BLS card is a common requirement for home care roles because you may be the only trained person present in an emergency. If you still need either one, we offer both, and we can help you plan the order that gets you working soonest.

Skills you build in the HHA course

Building on your CNA training, the HHA course sharpens the skills that home care specifically demands:

• Safe personal care and transfers in a home that was not designed like a hospital room
• Recognizing and reporting changes in a client's condition when no nurse is on site
• Infection control and safety in the home, including safe handling of equipment
• Supporting nutrition, hydration, and medication reminders within your scope
• Clear documentation and communication with the agency care team and the family

Where HHAs work and the demand for home care

Home Health Aides work for home health and hospice agencies, private-duty caregiving companies, and directly with families. Demand is strong and growing: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that home health and personal care is among the fastest-growing occupations in the country, driven by an aging population and a clear preference for receiving care at home. Across the greater Sacramento region and Northern California, home health and hospice agencies hire and retrain caregivers year round.

How HHA fits the caregiving career ladder

Adding an HHA certification widens the kinds of work you can take and the settings you can choose from. Many caregivers value home care for its flexibility and the one-on-one relationships it builds. It also pairs naturally with other credentials: some caregivers add a Restorative Nursing Assistant certification to work in skilled nursing, while others use their CNA and HHA experience as a stepping stone toward LVN or RN training. If you are weighing your options, our guide comparing CNA, HHA, and RNA paths lays them out side by side.

Who should enroll

Enroll in the HHA course if you are an active CNA who wants to work in home care or broaden the roles you qualify for. It suits caregivers who prefer independent, relationship-centered work and want the flexibility that home health offers. If you are not yet a CNA, start with our CNA program and add HHA afterward.

Tuition and what is included

The Home Health Aide course is $575. That covers your instruction and the training that adds the HHA credential to your active CNA. Remember the prerequisites: you will need an active CNA certification and a current BLS card to enroll and to work in most home care roles. If you need to schedule BLS at the same time, just let us know.

How to enroll and what to expect next

Ready to add home care to your skill set? Use our enrollment form or call (916) 544-1256. Tell us that your CNA is active and whether your BLS card is current, and our admissions team will confirm your start options. We serve students from across the greater Sacramento region at our Orangevale campus, a short drive for most of the metro.

Sources and official references

• California Department of Public HealthThe state agency that certifies nurse assistants and home health aides in California
• American Heart Association CPR & First AidSets the BLS curriculum standard behind the card required for this course

Certification requirements are set by the State of California through the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the relevant certifying bodies, and can change. Prices and prerequisites are current as of 2026; please confirm current details with the California Department of Public Health and the American Heart Association before enrolling.