Case Study Of A Patient Suffering Arteriosclerosis Discussion
Question
Liberty and the Elderly Patient Ronald is 71 years old. A widower, he lives alone in an apartment, but he regularly receives some assistance from a cleaning woman and a friendly neighbor. Ronald is presently in Metropolitan hospital, because he had a fall and suffered a broken leg. Now that he has begun to heal, he is ready to be discharged. Ronald also suffers from arteriosclerosis, a condition that results in his experiencing periods of confusion during which he sometimes wanders purposelessly around his apartment building and sometimes wandering around the city.
ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
This type of behavior has run some risks for Ronald in the past, and his children do not want him to return to his apartment. The children believe that he needs the supervised care provided in a nursing home. Ronald, when not in a confused state, repeatedly expresses his awareness of the problems he faces stemming from his arteriosclerosis and the resultant risks that he runs. Nonetheless, he would rather run those risks than be confined to institutional care. The health care professionals and Ronald’s children decide that he cannot be discharged from Metropolitan hospital until an appropriate nursing home is found. At that time, he will be sent to the nursing home. When Ronald insists to being discharged from the hospital, the nurses sedate him to a level sufficient to gain his compliance. Case Study Of A Patient Suffering Arteriosclerosis Discussion
QUESTION
1 Based on the textbook, the act of sedating patients over 60 and forcing this to take medications is considered elder abuse. In some states forcibly administering medication is considered a crime. In your opinion, is Ronald being medically restrained for his own good (he may cause harm to himself ) or should someone alert the authorities because Ronald’s autonomy is being violated. _____
2. Further questioning and investigation into Ronald’s broken leg reveal that his friendly neighbor has been quietly abusing Ronald for several years, because he has other injuries that have already healed. It is likely that if Ronald is sent home to his apartment that this abuse would continue, because Ronald will forget about the abuse and allow the neighbor to return. In your own words, explain what steps should be taken to protect Ronald from his abuser. Should the social workers look to file a restraining order or look to bring charges of elder abuse or both? ______
3. If Ronald’s adult children decided that he is capable of returning to his apartment with his neighbor and his cleaning lady assisting him, would the medical professionals and the social workers at the hospital be able to detain him against Ronald’s will and his children’s will? In your opinion, would this situation similar to a battered child/ spouse scenario where the abused person is returned to the abuser? _______
4. If Ronald is deemed to be mentally incompetent because of his medical condition, his oldest daughter will become his legal guardian. In your own words, explain how the removal of Ronald’s self-determination and autonomy in the hospital and the nursing home have made him more vulnerable and dependent on his children and medical care givers. (will he be better off /worse off if someone else is making decisions for him _______
5. In your opinion, what is the best possible outcome for Ronald? Please choose 1 (A -Ronald is allowed to go home to his apartment B- He moves into his daughter’s house, C – he is sent to the County Nursing home) Explain why your solution will put Ronald at the lowest risk and Please indicate if you agree or disagree with what has happened to Ronald so far in our case