University of Washington Mod 10 What Is Meant by Healthcare Disparity Discussion

Select one of the following questions for your initial post, which is due before Thursday evening at 11:59 pm EST. Please copy and paste the question at the beginning of your initial response so everyone knows which question you are answering. Be sure to include a properly formatted citation from your textbook and a peer-reviewed source for your initial post. The post should be at least 300 words.

• Many communities lack well-coordinated services for older adults. You are the newly hired director of senior services in a medium sized community. What services are needed for older adults that would allow them to a) stay in their homes as long as possible, b) have access to seamless services in different types of living situations, including long-term care and assisted living. How are these services funded now?

• What is meant by “healthcare disparity”? Describe a healthcare disparity in your community associated with patients who have special healthcare needs. Find a resource that is focused on mitigating or eliminating that disparity. Provide a brief description of the resource. How would you improve resources?

• You are a consultant hired to develop a long term care (LTC) facility. Select a state and describe the licensing requirements for an LTC in that state. For example, here is some information about requirements for the state of Pennsylvania – http://www.health.pa.gov/facilities/nursinghomes/Pages/Regulations.aspx#.Wz5Ari2ZPUI. What are the fire code and life safety code requirements? What is considered adequate staffing and who is responsible for ensuring that all licensing requirements are met?

• Select one of the federal initiatives to eliminate disparities and find more information about that initiative. Briefly describe the initiative, the target audience, responsible agencies, and how well that initiative is working. How would you improve the program you selected?

• You are the administrator for a large community hospital. A local advocacy group has contacted you because patients with disabilities have been complaining that hospital staff are not well-trained on assisting patients with disabilities. As you investigate you notice that none of your employees have disabilities. You wonder how to provided training for staff as well as how you can reach out to hire staff who may have disabilities. What are some steps you can take. You can begin by reviewing the Do-It website from the University of Washington (https://www.washington.edu/doit/). Also, take a look at:
  • McKee M, Case B, Fausone M, Zazove P, Ouellette A, Fetters MD. Medical schools’ willingness to accommodate medical students with sensory and physical disabilities: Ethical foundations of a functional challenge to “organic” technical standards. AMA Journal of Ethics. 2016; 18(10): 993-1002. doi: 10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.10.medu1-1610. http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2016/10/medu1-1610.html
  • Zazove P. Deaf doctor makes patients feel heard. CNN. May 20, 2015. https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/20/health/human-factor-philip-zazove/Note: The video is captioned but there are a few errors in the captions!