Health Care Aide Day for the year 2024 is celebrated/observed on Tuesday, October 18th. There are until the next observance.

The government of Manitoba, Canada, established Health Care Aide Day on October 18 to commemorate healthcare aides. Because these skilled professionals work around the clock in a variety of settings (from acute care to home-, community-, and residential care), they are always present caregivers for society’s sickest and most vulnerable members.In Manitoba, there were over 8,000 healthcare assistants, although that number has expanded significantly in recent years. Healthcare assistants are essential in any public healthcare system.

πŸ“† When is Health Care Aide Day?

This year, Health Care Aide Day is on October 18th. It is the 3rd Tuesday in October; in 2023, it is on Wednesday.

Countdown to Health Care Aide Day

β†’ Did you know: With the aging population, there is a greater demand for home health and personal care aides than ever before. In fact, employment is expected to rise 70% between 2010 and 2020.

You can also learn all interesting things you didn’t know about and facts about October 18, 2022.

πŸ“œ History of Health Care Aide Day

The home healthcare profession was further launched in 1963, when Dame Cicely Saunders presented a speech at Yale University on the concept of specialized care for people nearing the end of their lives. Dr. Saunders was invited to join the faculty of the Yale School of Nursing by the dean, Florence Wald, only two years later. Later, Dr. Saunders started the first hospice care in the UK. It was called St. Christopher’s Hospice, and it opened in 1967. In 1974, Florence Wald opened the first hospice center in Branford, Connecticut.

The first National Symposium on Hospice Care was held in Connecticut in 1975, and the National Hospice Organization (NHO) was founded in 1979 to promote hospice care as a concept. In 1982, Congress enacted legislation to establish a Medicare hospice benefit, and the NHO ran its first television PSA. The National Hospice Foundation was founded in 1992.

When the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 was implemented in 1997, it resulted in some job losses for healthcare employees, notably healthcare aides. The Act reduced Medicare home benefits, denying many poor people access to healthcare aid. As a result, nearly 3000 homecare firms shuttered their doors, and home health visits decreased. But since then, new ways to pay for the program and promises to make it easier for people in need to use have come up.

Healthcare assistants have clearly altered healthcare today. Caring for the ill and disabled in their own homes is far safer, more pleasant, and more dignified than in a hospital. According to some 2004 research, over 23 million U.S. families (or one in every five) were caring for sick or needy people over the age of 18. This care is costly, with the National Association for Home Care estimating a cost of roughly $257 billion! Trained, professional health care assistants can and have helped solve many of our country’s health care problems.

β˜‘οΈ Health Care Aide Day facts

βœ… It only costs $19/hour
When an employer sends a home healthcare assistant, the average pay was just $19/hour a few years agoβ€”remember, after the agency gets a cut, healthcare workers receive much less of this money.

βœ… Home aide workers didn’t have social security
Despite the fact that the Social Security Act was established by Congress in 1935, home nursing aides did not have access to social security benefits until the 1950s.

βœ… Many home healthcare workers rely on government assistance
Because of their low salary and long hours, around 40% of home healthcare aides are dependent on Medicaid, food stamps, or other government-run public assistance programs.

✨ Things to do on Health Care Aide Day

⚑ Show your love for a healthcare aide
This might be as simple as a tray of homemade cookies, a donated night of babysitting so they can relax, or simply a phone call or card. On this day, modest or major actions of appreciation are equally significant. Let the caregivers in your life know you appreciate them.

⚑ Learn about the profession
Whether your interests are different or you’re still determining what you want to do with your life, consider becoming a healthcare aide. It’s steady and (possibly) well-paying employment in an aging society. Furthermore, knowing what healthcare aides do is a terrific way to recognize them!

⚑ Post #HealthCareAideDay
Increase the visibility of a healthcare organization you know (with their permission) on social media! Post a photo or remark expressing your gratitude to the healthcare assistants in your life. Because of your article, someone in your circle may express their gratitude to a healthcare assistant they know!

πŸ“… Health Care Aide Day Observances

YEAR DATE DAY
2023 October 18 Wednesday
2024 October 18 Friday
2025 October 18 Saturday
2026 October 18 Sunday
2027 October 18 Monday

Learn all October holidays, including Health and other Appreciation holidays.

We will continue to update this page with new information and must-know facts about Health Care Aide Day. So be sure to check back soon.