Imagining myself as a policy maker for my small town of St. Martinville Louisiana where I come from, based on what I know and what I have learned in this course, what would I modify or improve to make a positive change in the life of a vulnerable group we have not covered in class?
I think about my father who is 85 years old on a fixed income with Medicaid, even though I don't consider him vulnerable, my vulnerable group of choice is the elderly. The elderly is finding it difficult each year to be provided adequate care with the amount of fixed income they are receiving from the government.
It is hard for the elderly to purchase and manage their medication with the ongoing challenges of inflated cost, doctor visits co-pays and premiums. This ongoing issue has been a significant burden on their mental and physical state of mind, not to mention those who have disabilities or multiple chronic diseases.
Transportation is also a hindering factor for those without access to a vehicle, they find it difficult to get to their clinical appointments, pharmacy or local store for groceries.
A program needs to be put into place for the assurance of reliable transportation and in-home care treatment for those who wish to live independently in the care of their own home. In the health profession, organizations must be aware of the needs for the elderly and administer appropriate policies that will promote their medical needs through demographics and health trends.
Special populations in health care [ Review your classmates' posts. Provide a substantive response (minimum of 100 words) to your peer. What new things did you learn about another vulnerable population from your colleagues? Compare and contrast your proposed policy to those of your peer Ericka One group that seems to be vulnerable is the elder. I feel this population, although they have home health and special housing for this population, they do not get the proper treatment and care as they should. Many of these elders have care givers that come in and are supposed to help them with their everyday routine.
I have experienced first hand a 60 year old disabled woman who came into the Urgent Care where I work and disclosed to me that she had fell. I asked how she fell and was her caregiver around when the incident occurred. She stated that her care giver has not shown up nor have they sent a new one for two weeks. This woman also lives in an assisted living apartment so that she can get "help" with every day routines. While changing and improving my policy to encourage and offer better assisted help for the elder, I will consult with this vulnerable group because they are the ones that must experience their care that is being given to them by other nurses or individuals. " Community- oriented programs and policies focus on mitigating the factors that contribute to vulnerability"(Burkholder, Nash, 2014).
I want to know exactly the average time the spend in the shower, they go to their regular doctor visits and how much help they are getting in their home including house work. I will try to implement better transportation and agencies to see what types of individuals they are sending out to help the elders. These individuals must be genuine, caring, but must importantly patient with them because they do go at a slower pace.
References: Burkholder, D.M., & Nash, N.B. (2014). Special Populations in Health Care. Burlington, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning, LLC.