Rhode Island · home health aide (HHA)
How to become a home health aide in Rhode Island: the routes that qualify you, who regulates home health agencies in Rhode Island, pay, free training options, and all 48 state-approved CNA programs, since a CNA certification also qualifies you as a home health aide.
Your route
Home health agencies in Rhode Island are licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Medicare and Medicaid agencies must use aides who completed one of the federally approved routes. These are the two most common.
Fastest route
CNA
Agency route
75 hrs
Why we list CNA programs: under federal rules, a state-approved CNA program plus good standing on the Rhode Island nurse aide registry qualifies you as a home health aide. It’s the route that opens the most doors. See our Rhode Island CNA guide.
The steps
The general path for most new aides.
Keep your hours up. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training a year, and if you go 24 months in a row without paid aide work, you must retrain.
Home health aide vs. CNA
The two jobs overlap, but the settings and pay differ.
| Home health aide | CNA | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you work | Clients’ homes, through home health and hospice agencies | Nursing homes and hospitals |
| Training | 75 hours federal minimum, or a CNA certification | State-approved CNA program |
| Official record | Your agency’s training and competency records | The Rhode Island nurse aide registry |
| Median pay (RI) | $21.00 an hour* | $22.33 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups home health aides with personal care aides. About 7,490 of them work in Rhode Island.
Help paying
Ways to cover the cost of training.
Many home health agencies train aides they hire, and nursing homes that hire you can’t charge you for CNA training under federal rules.
Directory
All 48 programs from our Rhode Island CNA guide. Finishing one, passing the exam, and staying in good standing on the state registry also qualifies you as a home health aide for Medicare and Medicaid agencies.
| Program | City | County | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 911 Programs | Warwick | Kent | (401) 773-7716 |
| Access Healthcare | East Providence | Providence | (401) 438-4747 |
| Ace Home Health Aid Training School | Cranston | Providence | (401) 452-4545 |
| Alpine Nursing Home | Coventry | Kent | (401) 397-5001 |
| American Safety Programs and Training | Warwick | Kent | (401) 273-6900 |
| Aquidneck Island Adult Learning Center | Newport | Newport | (401) 847-7171 |
| Beulah Educational Services | Providence | Providence | (401) 644-1757 |
| Briarcliffe Manor | Johnston | Providence | (401) 944-2450 |
| Brown University Health (Lifespan) | Providence | Providence | (401) 444-8490 |
| Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), Center for Workforce and Community Education | Lincoln | Providence | (401) 285-1214 |
| Cranston Adult Education Programs | Cranston | Providence | (401) 270-8166 |
| Crossroads Rhode Island | Providence | Providence | (401) 521-2255 |
| Divine Trinity School of Certified Nursing Assistant | Warwick | Kent | Call the program |
| Divine Trinity School of Certified Nursing Assistant | Providence | Providence | Call the program |
| Elderwood of Scallop Shell at Wakefield | Wakefield | Washington | (401) 789-3006 |
| Empower Training Academy | Warwick | Kent | (401) 216-8818 |
| Genesis Center | Providence | Providence | (401) 781-6110 |
| Grace Barker Nursing Center | Warren | Bristol | (401) 245-9100 |
| Grand Islander Center (Genesis HealthCare) | Middletown | Newport | (401) 849-7100 |
| Health Care Connections Nursing Services | Riverside | Providence | (401) 437-3515 |
| Health Care Educational Resources | Cranston | Providence | Call the program |
| Health Care Educational Resources | Exeter | Washington | (401) 667-0471 |
| HITEP | Providence | Providence | (401) 785-2202 |
| Holiday Retirement Home | Manville | Providence | (401) 765-1440 |
| Home Instead Home Care | Warwick | Kent | (401) 214-2470 |
| Joy CNA School | Providence | Providence | (401) 632-5915 |
| Ken's CPR & Healthcare Training | East Greenwich | Kent | Call the program |
| Kent Regency | Warwick | Kent | (401) 739-4241 |
| Northeast Healthcare Academy | Smithfield | Providence | (856) 242-7242 |
| Overlook Eden | Pascoag | Providence | (401) 568-2549 |
| Phenix Home Care | Cranston | Providence | (401) 943-6230 |
| Providence College | Providence | Providence | (401) 865-2320 |
| RI Allied Health and Safety Institute | Providence | Providence | (401) 391-2230 |
| Saint Elizabeth Community | Warwick | Kent | (401) 773-7494 |
| South County Hospital | Wakefield | Washington | (401) 788-8724 |
| South Kingstown Nursing and Rehabilitation | West Kingston | Washington | (401) 783-8568 |
| St. Antoine Residence | North Smithfield | Providence | (401) 767-3500 |
| The Friendly Home | Woonsocket | Providence | (401) 769-7220 |
| The Salome Gomez Institute | Cranston | Providence | (401) 473-3920 |
| Trinity Health & Rehabilitation | Woonsocket | Providence | (401) 765-5844 |
| TruePath Clinical Training | Providence | Providence | (800) 350-8945 |
| Valley View Health & Rehabilitation | Woonsocket | Providence | (401) 765-5844 |
| West View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | West Warwick | Kent | (401) 828-9000 |
| Westerly Education Center | Westerly | Washington | (401) 584-4931 |
| Westerly Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center | Westerly | Washington | (401) 348-0020 |
| Woonsocket Education Center | Woonsocket | Providence | (401) 488-4138 |
| Your Choice of Training Program | Warwick | Kent | (401) 919-5532 |
| Zenith CNA Academy (Harbor of Hope) | Pawtucket | Providence | (401) 332-0157 |
Tip: ask each program whether it also offers a home health aide add-on. For details, costs, and exam steps, see our Rhode Island CNA guide.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
Home health aides in Rhode Island work for home health agencies licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Medicare and Medicaid agencies must hire aides who meet the federal training and competency rules. Ask the agency you're applying to which credential it requires.
The two most common routes are completing a 75-hour home health aide training and competency evaluation, or becoming a CNA. Federal rules count a CNA in good standing on the Rhode Island nurse aide registry as a qualified home health aide.
The median pay for home health and personal care aides in Rhode Island is $21.00 an hour, about $43,680 a year, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey. Rhode Island CNAs earn a median $22.33 an hour.
Yes, for Medicare and Medicaid home health agencies, if the CNA completed a state-approved program and is listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry.
Yes. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training every 12 months for aides at Medicare and Medicaid agencies.