Many individuals have a difficult time managing their homes by themselves. Some individuals suffer from mental disabilities, illnesses related to aging or are recovering from substance abuse and need assistance in managing day-to-day activities. Through a variety of programs, home health aides are employed to help attend to the medical and occupational needs of patients. Overseeing these aides are residential supervisors.

Management

Residential supervisors fulfill a variety of managerial tasks such as hiring home health aides, providing training, assigning duties to aides and evaluating the job performance of these aides. The residential supervisor must regularly check to make sure that the home health aides are filling out all proper documentation and are making all safety checks. The residential supervisor must also make sure that the dignity and emotional well being of the residents are being met. Usually, residential supervisors hold staff meetings on a regular basis.

Tasks

Home residents are helped with various tasks such as doing laundry, cleaning the home, shopping and financial management. Clients who are in the process of recovering from a particular condition are given rehabilitative training, escalating the number and types of tasks that are performed. Residential supervisors are expected to fulfill all necessary documentation, including progress notes, incident reports and inspection checklists. The residential supervisor must continually keep track of the client’s physical condition and be ready to provide appropriate medical care when the client needs it, according to Cornerstone Services. Patients who need emotional support will also be given counseling by the residential supervisor. The residential supervisor is also responsible for coordinating recreational activities for the resident in order to prevent boredom.

Qualifications

Usually, the residential supervisor must have a bachelor’s degree and at least one year of experience as a home health aide. Prior experience working with those with disabilities is also a plus. Residential supervisors must be ready to respond to any emergency, regardless of whether that emergency is medical or related to a hazard such as fires. The residential supervisor must be fully aware of all safety precautions and procedures, according to Don Guanella Village.

Outlook

The need for home health aides is expected to grow rapidly between 2008 and 2018. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the need for home health aides to grow by 50 percent, mostly due to a rapidly aging baby boomer population that will need extra assistance with day-to-day tasks.

Earnings

According to payscale.com, residence supervisors earned between $25,750 and $38,151 in 2010. These supervisors are usually not paid for the time that they spend traveling between residences, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.