Essay on Elder Care Case Study

This essay aims to represent an argument between two view points: to remain in their own homes with ongoing support from families and the health system or going to residential aged care of elderly in Australia. Especially, it deals with the issue of increasing ageing population in Australia includes statistical information highlighting some causes and telltales. The context presented is economic and social. It also looks at the effects that increasing of the ageing population has on society, the individual and the Australian economy.

Long-term care can be defined as a broad set of paid and unpaid services for people who are mentally or physically disabled, or whose chronic illness places them in need of medical or personal assistance for long periods of time. “It is estimated that there are more than twelve million Americans of all ages whose mix of serious disability and chronic illness places them at the high risk for functional decline, hospitalization, or nursing home placement.” (Benjamin) Several different populations require long-term care services, and the needs of these populations vary. In addition to the elderly, many of the long-term care users are younger persons with physical disabilities; persons with developmental disabilities; and persons with chronic

Ms. Cetiner has been an RN in the hemodialysis unit for the past 6 years. She provides excellent care to our Veterans, and consistently functions in a professional manner with staff, patients and families. She was part of a unit I CARE award presented by Dr. Mayo-Smith for quality and commitment to our Veterans. She demonstrates competency in the utilization of the nursing process as evidenced by the accurate assessment, plan, implementation, and evaluation of patient care in her daily practice. She developed a unit diabetic foot

Dale Gordon has been a patient in the ICU for 6 days after developing complications after open heart surgery. He is an 82-year-old African American who is disoriented to place and time. He lives with his daughter Claudia in her home. Claudia and her two brothers visit Mr. Gordon daily since he has been hospitalized. Mr. Gordon has not been eating well since the surgery and has lost 3 pounds. Mr. Gordon has type 2 diabetes and is on oral antihyperglycemic medication. Before he came to the hospital, Mr. Gordon was able to only ambulate for short distances. He has orders to get up in a chair twice a day. Joan, a student nurse, is caring for Mr. Gordon this morning. She has reviewed his medical record and is now ready to start caring for him.

Discharge planning is a routine feature of health in many countries. The aim of discharge planning is to reduce hospital length of stay and unplanned readmissions to hospital, to improve the co-ordination of services following discharge from hospital thereby bridging the gap between the hospital and community (S. Shapperd, 2008). The focus of this story is discharge planning that occurs while

2) Keywords- Discharge Instructions, follow-up care, geriatric patients greater than 65, comprehension, patient discharge education.

Mr. Estroga beginning receiving home health services about 2 years ago due to a wound in his foot. Shortly after Mr. Estoga lost his toes, and both his legs were amputated. Rebecca was able to treat and care for the wound. Mr. Estroga is now utilizing skilled nursing services to help with his medication management. According to Rebecca, Mr. Estroga is incapable of giving medications, giving insulin shots and filling syringes. Mr. Estroga does now have pre filled insulin shots, but he does require help from Mrs. Estroga to properly give the shots.

The resident is an 88-year-old Caucasian male who has been married for 63 years along with a long-term care living arrangement. He has medical diagnoses of generalized muscle weakness, cutaneous abscess of buttocks, and lack of coordination. The resident rated his health status as a score of “7” because he stated that he felt pretty energetic most of the time.

Discharge planning, education, and follow-up are areas healthcare facilities fail patients significantly. Often times, the bedside nurse has little time to actually sit down to provide the patient with detailed discharge instructions. My vision for a new and improved healthcare environment is to have discharge teams to assist patients with needs outside the healthcare facility, educate patients and families about disease process, and provide follow-up appointments and calls to promote compliance of treatment.

The article examined the issues that affect frail older adults who are being discharged from the hospital. When evaluating the research question it appears to be implied at the end of introduction. The author stated that the paper will indicate how healthcare team members (HCTMs) use the adult protective services (APS) system as a “safety net” when concerns are evident about an older adult’s decision concerning discharge from the hospital (Popejoy, 2008). To justify their research the author explicitly stated how healthcare workers are increasingly finding it a challenge to create discharge plans for older adults, which is due to a lack of services. Older adults make up the largest portion of patients,

Individuals living in Long Term Care facilities are among the most vulnerable of populations during a disaster. Many lessons have been learned from devastations like Hurricane Katrina, Rita, and Wilma that occurred in 2005 in regards to the disaster preparedness levels of Long Term Care Facilities (LTC).

The older adult population in the United States has steadily increased thanks to technology and medical advances. While this definitely is an undeniable achievement, it also creates some challenges that society was not as prevalent to face before. Now that people are living longer it’s also means that often times family members are becoming caregivers to their loved ones during their so called golden years. Not only may it be difficult to care for a loved one, but it also becomes even more burdensome when their loved has a disability. In fact “dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.” (2016). Fortunately there are adult day centers that serve people with dementia and provide services that can benefit them. However many times caregivers are forgotten about and aren’t provided services that can also benefit them as well. While it does take a bit of pressure off of the caregivers while their loved ones are at the day center, it does not eliminate all the other effects. Many people may not be aware that there are detrimental effects that a caregiver may experience as a result of caring for someone with dementia.

How can nurses ensure that older people are treated with respect and dignity whist being cared for in hospital or in the community?

Jones is a 64 year old well nourished man with a history of long-standing non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). He had an open heart -surgery bypass graft 7 weeks ago. The graft site got infected and had to undergo an emergency surgery to improve circulation to his left lower limb. Mr. Jones is relieved that his leg was saved and he is now being prepared for discharge. He wants to regain his strength so that he can start doing the things he loves. Currently Mr. Jones needs moderate assistance depending on his level of pain or fatigue and ambulates with a walker. Mr. Jones still needs help with activities of daily living. He has urinary and bowel control problems as side effects from multiple antibiotics. Mr. Jones is married and has 4 grown children that provide him with love, care, and support. The nursing staff is teaching Mrs. Jones how to perform sterile wound care for her husband as he will need dressing changes three times a day, blood glucose monitoring and a healthy diet. Social service is helping to keep communication channels open between Mr. Jones, his family and the nursing staff to maintain psychological and emotional health.

Discharge Planning – Patients who require continuing care after release from the hospital are identified and the appropriate services are arranged through participating home care, medical equipment and other providers.