1. Why is emergency preparedness crucial for hospitals of the 21st century?

You have been hired as Assistant Manager of a Home Health Care Agency. The agency offers a wide range of skilled medical services such as nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy from qualified medical professionals. The agency also provides home health aide services including assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing and eating.

Your supervisor told you that she recently received a call from an advocate whom an employee consulted via the Employee Assistance Program because the employee felt that she had been treated unfairly after contracting an illness. She explained that a few months ago, one of your agency’s home health aides, Sara, became ill. Sara had been coughing for approximately six weeks, lost weight without trying, had no appetite, was having difficulty sleeping, and had an intermittent fever. She became concerned and went to see a healthcare professional who diagnosed her with active tuberculosis (TB).

Sara missed a lot of time from work while completing treatment for TB. Her physician cleared her to return to work after she was no longer contagious. Upon returning to work, Sara felt isolated because her boss and co-workers refused to spend time with her. She heard that someone from the agency’s Human Resources Department told her co-workers her diagnosis. The stressful circumstances at work became even worse when another home health aide started to display the same symptoms Sara had.

Your supervisor has asked you to review the entire situation and how it was handled by the agency.

Many complex problems facing today’s healthcare managers (in this scenario the Assistant Manager of a Home Health Care Agency) have a financial, legal, and ethical implications for their organization.

Address the following questions:

• Keeping in mind the legitimate healthcare problem of Sara having TB, and then identify and discuss the financial, legal, and ethical implications associated with this problem. Which implication (i.e., financial, ethical, or legal) is the most important and why? Which is the least important and why?

Discussion 2 (300 words, 2-3 credible references cited in APA)

Address the following questions:

• 1. Why is emergency preparedness crucial for hospitals of the 21st century?
• 2. For what types of emergencies must hospital administrators of today now be prepared?