Instructions:
For this assignment you will need to identify and evaluate a political health care issue facing healthcare administrators, stating how you would handle it effectively and ethically as an administrator at your facility.
Please draft a policy addressing one of the scenarios provided below (or create your own scenario). A scenario you create could include issues like medicinal/recreational marijuana, pre-existing conditions, DNR orders, euthanasia, end of life care, eugenics, medical resource allocation, stem cells and their usage, substance abuse (excessive opioid scripting), genetic manipulation, cloning, mental health access, and incarceration of the mentally ill. If you are creating your own scenario, email it to your instructor in advance to make sure that your topic is appropriate for this assignment.
The policy will be utilized in the future to address similar political issues. Make sure to consider all the pros and cons of your policy and how it will affect the future of your facility. Refer to the resource provided below when creating your policy.
Scenarios:
- A 15 year old female presents in your hospital and has been diagnosed with a deadly disease. There are no treatments available and the disease is slow in its progression. The patient has stated that she wants to die and does not want to be in the hospital. The parents do not want their child to suffer and inquire about effective ways to move forward with euthanasia. The family has not been silent with their wishes and staff are arguing over the ethics of this case and morale is affected as well as productivity within the department. As the administrator of the facility you have to appease the family and your staff, what are some steps that you would take to accomplish this? Using critical thinking skills you must also consider that the child does not have the decision making skills as an adult. The parents in this scenario are overwhelmed and may not be thinking clearly.
- You are the healthcare administrator of an incarceration facility with a large population of people that suffer from mental illness. You are seeing that their needs are not being met and they are getting sicker. You are concerned that the warden as well as other stakeholders in the community are treating this facility as a mental health facility instead of a facility for criminals.How would you implement a plan to advocate for those inmates in your care?
- You are the administrator of a large community healthcare center and a staff member runs to you stating that Sue and Emily are having a very loud argument in the medical records room. When you arrive in the medical records room the argument is to the point of which it has escalated to a potential physical altercation. The 2 staff members have worked at the facility for over 6 years each without any problems or write ups. How will you address this issue directly with them? How will you make a policy to ensure that issues between the parties are resolved and don’t present themselves again?
- You are the administrator of a privately owned subacute facility. You have several patients in the end stage of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. One of these patients is a 32 year old female named Kathy. Kathy’s parents are divorced and her mother does not visit because she is struggling with her daughter’s declining health and physical abilities. Kathy’s father visits all the time. He owns a commercial airline and is a private payer. Additionally, he is close friends with the owners of the facility. One of your nurses starts dating Kathy’s father. The patient has stated her outrage but the relationship continues. Draft a policy to address this situation effectively.
