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Landing your first home health aide position in Greater Houston requires a resume that speaks the local language. This means highlighting Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) credentials, STAR+PLUS Medicaid program fluency, and bilingual skills that stop a Harris County recruiter mid-scroll. A generic HHA template from a national job board will get you passed over in a market this specific. In this guide, the Houston Senior Living Guide team explores what a Texas-ready, ATS-optimized HHA resume looks like section by section.

Key Takeaways

  • Texas HHSC HHA certification is the baseline credential. The 75-hour training requirement is non-negotiable for agency employment in Houston, and your resume must list the approved program name and completion date.
  • Bilingual Spanish-English is a genuine competitive differentiator. With a large Hispanic and Latino population in Houston, agencies actively recruit bilingual HHAs and frequently offer a hiring premium. Your resume should specify your fluency level.
  • STAR+PLUS and dementia care experience deserve special attention. Texas Medicaid STAR+PLUS is the dominant managed care framework for home health in Houston, and recruiters scan for it by name. Alzheimer's and dementia care competencies are equally important and should not be buried in a generic skills list.
  • BLS Houston-Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA wage data provides negotiating leverage. Houston metro hourly medians for home health aides run higher than the Texas statewide average. Knowing the local numbers changes the salary conversation.
Quick Answers
Q: What is the required HHA certification for jobs in Houston?
To work as a Home Health Aide in Houston, you must complete a 75-hour training program approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). This includes 59 hours of classroom instruction and 16 hours of supervised clinical experience. Your certificate is issued by the training provider, not HHSC, so you should list the program name and completion date on your resume.
Q: What's the difference between an HHA and a CNA in Texas?
The primary difference is the work environment and scope of training. Home Health Aides (HHAs) are trained specifically for in-home care settings, while Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) have a broader training that prepares them for facilities like hospitals and nursing homes. While some duties overlap, CNA certification in Texas is more regulated and involves being listed on the state's Nurse Aide Registry.
Q: What is STAR+PLUS and why is it on Houston HHA job descriptions?
STAR+PLUS is a Texas Medicaid managed care program that provides home and community-based services to seniors and adults with disabilities, helping them avoid nursing facilities. Houston-area home health agencies are major providers for this program, so they specifically look for aides who have experience working with STAR+PLUS clients and navigating its documentation requirements.

What Houston Employers Actually Look for on an HHA Resume

Houston home health agencies are looking for a specific certification stack, not just a list of duties. The foundation is the Texas Health and Human Services HHA certification. This involves a minimum of 75 hours of HHSC-approved training, combining classroom instruction and supervised clinical hours. Since HHSC does not issue a state license or wallet card like the Texas Nurse Aide Registry does for CNAs, your resume must carry the full weight of proof. List the exact name of your training program, the city, and your completion date.

Beyond that baseline, recruiters expect to see current CPR/BLS certification and any dementia-specific training. Critically, in the Houston market, you need documented familiarity with Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) systems like HHAeXchange or Sandata. Texas Medicaid mandates these systems for all personal care and home health visits. Understanding the distinction between an HHA and a personal care attendant (PCA) under Texas Medicaid STAR+PLUS also matters. Your resume should specify which managed care organization (MCO), like Molina or UnitedHealthcare, you worked under, not just that you provided "home care."

The proximity to the Texas Medical Center adds another layer of demand. Agencies in the Inner Loop and Medical Center area frequently handle high-acuity referrals, including post-surgical recovery and oncology support. HHAs with experience caring for medically complex patients should highlight this skill explicitly. You can explore Medical Center area senior living to understand how concentrated this demand is.

Building a Houston-Ready HHA Resume: Skills, Bilingual Edge, and Career Path

The skills section of an HHA resume in Houston should map the city's specific caregiving demands. Heat and weather safety awareness is not an afterthought here. HHAs who accompany seniors outdoors between May and September manage a genuine medical risk in a climate that routinely pushes heat indices above 100°F. Noting this competency signals real field experience. Bilingual Spanish-English documentation is the single highest-value differentiator in this market. Specify your fluency level and describe your patient communication experience. "Provided Spanish-language medication reminders and ADL instructions" is far stronger than just listing "bilingual."

A competitive Houston skills list should also include dementia care protocols, mobility assistance, HIPAA compliance, medication reminders, and EVV system operation. For HHAs who have worked under STAR+PLUS, listing the specific MCO and service authorization workflow adds credibility. A recruiter at a Montgomery County agency, where the senior population along The Woodlands corridor is growing fast, will immediately recognize this experience.

Quick Answers
Q: What is the typical hourly pay for a home health aide in Houston?
According to BLS data, the median hourly wage for home health aides in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area is slightly above the Texas state average. Rates vary, as agencies serving STAR+PLUS Medicaid clients have different pay structures than private-pay agencies. HHAs with specialized experience, such as dementia care or bilingual skills, can often command a higher starting wage.
Q: How long does it take to get the required HHA training in Texas?
To work for a Medicare-certified home health agency in Texas, you must complete at least 75 hours of state-approved training, which includes 16 hours of clinical experience. Most Houston-area vocational schools and community colleges offer programs that can be completed in just two to four weeks. This is a much faster timeline than the training required to become a CNA.
Q: How much does HHA training cost in the Houston area?
The cost for a 75-hour HHA certification program in Houston typically ranges from $500 to $1,200, depending on the school. However, some local home health agencies offer free or employer-sponsored training programs in exchange for a work commitment. Researching agencies that are actively hiring is a great way to find these cost-saving opportunities.

The career ladder from HHA to CNA to LVN in the Houston area is well-worn and worth mapping on your resume. Moving from HHA to CNA requires passing through the Texas Nurse Aide Registry, which typically involves 75 to 100 hours of additional training. Houston Community College and San Jacinto College both offer CNA programs. The LVN pathway runs approximately 12 months through local community colleges. Each step up the ladder requires a resume refresh. Document your supervised clinical hours and in-service training as you accumulate them. Frame every EVV log and care plan interaction as evidence of your clinical process literacy.

Free HHA Resume Template for Houston, TX: Section by Section

Most HHA resume templates on job boards are designed for a national audience. They often omit HHSC certification language, ignore STAR+PLUS entirely, and treat EVV as optional. The structure below is built specifically for Greater Houston job seekers and can be copied into a document for submission. Every section is calibrated to what Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County agencies want to see, cross-referenced against the HHSC Provider Search for active agencies in the market.

Section-by-Section Breakdown

  • Contact Block: Full name, phone, professional email, and city/county (e.g., Houston, Harris County, TX). If bilingual, add a line: "Bilingual: English / Spanish (Fluent)." Recruiters scan this block in seconds. Do not include your full street address.
  • Professional Summary: Two to three sentences maximum. Lead with your HHSC HHA certification, years of experience, and top specialty. Example: "HHSC-certified home health aide with four years of experience supporting elderly patients in Harris and Fort Bend counties. Fluent in Spanish and English with documented STAR+PLUS service delivery under Molina Healthcare. Specialized in dementia care, safe patient handling, and Electronic Visit Verification."
  • Certifications: List each credential on its own line with the issuing body and date. Include your HHSC HHA Certificate (Program Name, City, Completion Date), CPR/BLS certification, and any EVV or dementia-specific training. Do not lump these into a paragraph.
  • Skills: Six to eight bullet points of Houston-relevant competencies. Include Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), bilingual patient communication, EVV systems, dementia care, mobility assistance, medication reminders, HIPAA compliance, and Texas heat safety awareness.
  • Work Experience: Use reverse chronological order. For each role, include the agency name, county served, patient population, and program affiliation (STAR+PLUS, private pay). Use clinical action verbs like "monitored," "documented," and "assisted." Quantify where possible, such as "provided daily care to 6-8 patients across northwest Houston."
  • Education: List your high school diploma or GED. Include any CNA or LVN coursework in progress at a local college. Showing forward movement on the credential ladder matters to retention-conscious agencies.

Candidates pursuing memory care roles should also review the landscape of memory care communities in Houston. Understanding the facility side of the industry sharpens interview performance. For those considering a future in assisted living, our guide What Is Assisted Living? provides key regulatory context. This knowledge helps HHAs articulate why their dementia-specific training is so valuable.

Quick Answers
Q: How should my resume differ for a Home Health Aide (HHA) versus a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) job in Houston?
For Houston HHA roles, your resume should highlight your HHSC training certificate and clinical support tasks performed under a nurse's supervision. For PCA positions under Texas STAR+PLUS, emphasize your experience with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and name the specific managed care organizations (MCOs) you've worked with.
Q: Should I focus my job search on HHA or CNA roles in the Houston area?
Your focus depends on your preferred work environment. In Houston, HHAs primarily work in private homes through licensed agencies, while CNAs are more prevalent in facilities like nursing homes and hospitals. Tailor your resume to the setting: HHAs should emphasize independent work and home-based protocols, while CNAs should highlight experience in a clinical team environment.
Q: Which home health agencies should I apply to in Harris or Fort Bend County?
Instead of focusing on specific names, use the official HHSC Provider Search tool to find all licensed home health agencies in your target county. Cross-reference that list with current openings on our Houston Senior Living Guide Jobs Hub. Agencies near the Texas Medical Center often have a higher demand for HHAs skilled in medically complex cases.

Start Your Search on Houston Senior Living Guide

You found this article through a search — and that is exactly how Houston Senior Living Guide is designed to work. Beyond helping families find care, we connect senior care professionals with employers across Greater Houston. Our Jobs Hub lists current openings at licensed facilities across Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Galveston, and Brazoria counties, with salary data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here is how job seekers use the Guide:

  • Browse open positions — Our Jobs Hub pulls verified openings from licensed senior care facilities across Greater Houston. Filter by care type, location, and role.
  • Research employers before you apply — Every facility in our directory is verified against Texas HHSC licensing records. Check inspection history, care types offered, and facility size before submitting an application.
    • li>Get Houston-specific salary data — Our career guides use BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for the Houston metro area — not national averages that undercount the Houston premium.

Browse Senior Care Jobs in Houston →

Why Houston Senior Living Guide

Houston Senior Living Guide is the largest free, independent senior care directory in the Greater Houston metro. We have more than 1,500 licensed facilities indexed across Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Galveston, and Brazoria counties. All our data is verified against Texas HHSC licensing records and updated weekly. Our career content is built with the same local specificity, providing real wage data from the Houston MSA and regulatory context that national job boards lack.

About This Guide

Houston Senior Living Guide is a free, independent resource helping families navigate senior care options across the Greater Houston metro area. Our directory includes more than 1,500 licensed facilities across Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Galveston, and Brazoria counties, with data sourced directly from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). We exist to make the search for quality senior care less overwhelming and more informed.

Why This Guide Exists — This guide was built by a Houston-area family after navigating assisted living, memory care, and home health firsthand when our mother was diagnosed with a memory care condition. Our content is reviewed by a licensed registered nurse in Texas. We built what we wished existed when we needed it.