Home health nursing is a nursing specialty in which nurses provide multidimensional home care to patients of all ages. Home health care is a cost efficient way to deliver quality care in the convenience of the client's home. Home health nurses create care plans to achieve goals based on the client's diagnosis. These plans can include preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative actions. Home health nurses also supervise certified nursing assistants. The professional nursing organization for home health nurses is the Home Healthcare Nurses Association (HHNA). Home health care is intended for clients that are well enough to be discharged home, but still require skilled nursing personnel to assess, initiate and oversee nursing interventions. History Lillian Wald is recognized as the pioneer of public health nursing. She established the Henry Street Settlement which served underprivileged individuals and families. Nurses and social workers that worked at the Henry Street Settlement visited patients in their homes, assessed their health needs, and provided support with hygiene, nutrition, immunizations and more. Wald was able to convince Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to cover home care services. This allowed public health nursing to shift from charitable work to profitable work. Roles and responsibilities There is a wide range of services that are performed by many different professionals, services include wound care, disease management, medical equipment, therapy, medical social services, and patient education. Home health nurses have a wide range of duties and services provided, and in addition to services provided nurses also consult with doctors on the status of the patient and provide feedback on any potential changes that need to be made to the care plan. Some responsibilities that home health nurses take on include promoting health and disease prevention, medication administration, educating patients on their current diagnosis, providing emotional support, and providing basic care such as personal hygiene. Nurses also step into the role of case managers, meaning that they coordinate services from different disciplines for the patient. This can include rehabilitation, pharmacy, community resources and more. Providing the most up-to-date and effective care for a patient is also a very important part of a home health nurse's job. They do this by continually keeping up to date on the latest research and Evidence-Based Practice. Education and certification Home health nurses can have a nursing diploma, be a licensed practical nurse, have an associate of science in nursing, a bachelor of science in nursing, or higher.