Humanities Homework Help

Discussion Requirements

A substantive comment should be approximately 300 words or more for the response (A total of 1 response).

Read the initial comments posted by your classmates and reflect upon them.

Before writing your comments:

• Review the Discussion grading rubric to see what is expected for an excellent discussion, in order to earn full credit.
• Review some resources to help you synthesize, such as the following:

Sullivan, J. (2011). Strategies for Synthesis Writing. Retrieved from http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/edu/Strategies-for-Synthesis-Writing.html

NOTE: You are required to cite sources and include a reference list for the second post if it is simply your opinion. However, if your opinion is based on facts (as it should be), it is good practice to strengthen your position by citing sources.

Be sure to meet all of the criteria in the rubric, as noted in the instructions above.

Third post for each module discussion:

Read the initial and secondary comments posted by your classmates and reflect upon them.

Directly respond to at least one classmate in a way that extends meaningful discussions, adds new information, and/or offers alternative perspectives.

MY POST

DO NOT RESPOND

Classmates and Professor,

COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency in the United States

Covid-19 pandemic is an emergency that has hit the United States. The healthcare department has significantly been affected and the challenges faced have helped define necessary actions for healthcare disaster management. The unprecedented occurrence of the pandemic has positioned healthcare practitioners, patients, and families at the risk of contracting the virus. Healthcare workers have been provided with safety equipment to ensure minimal direct contact cases with the virus.

As a healthcare emergency disaster, poor communication has hampered essential operations. In the early stages of the pandemic, the government ignored the threats posed by the virus, and vital restrictions were ignored. This was after the health department in the United States reported the possibility of the virus, but much was not done to ensure that the threat was contained within its initial stages. With reports of its origin from China, the health and security departments ought to have reacted quickly and assess the danger and possible means of preventing its spread across the country (Lange et al., 2020). However, with poor communication among essential departments, including security and healthcare units, the virus began to spread from one state to another.

In 2020, the U.S faced a spike of Covid-19 infections, with high death rates being recorded daily. At some time, the country had the highest number of deaths recorded daily compared to other parts of the world. The health system faced immense pressure, and it was stretched beyond its capacity. So far, the number of deaths recorded in the country is an average of 600,147, with 33,715,951 virus cases. The Novel Coronavirus has caused a substantial disruption to the American economy (Hartnett et al., 2020). With lockdowns on central states, a majority of Americans have had to work at home where various businesses have been temporarily closed for the period the pandemic was on a spike. Lawmakers have enacted significant bills costing an upward of $ 5.3 trillion to assist handle the economic burdens on businesses and families. $174 billion has been set aside to enhance Covid-19 testing, vaccination, and contact tracing. In March 2020, $8.3 billion was set aside for vaccine research and funding health agencies (Chudik et al., 2020).

An action that could have prevented the problems above would be the containment of U.S borders the moment the initial Covid-19 infections were reported. This could have allowed the healthcare department to carry out efficient contact tracing while the number of conditions was minimum. This was feasible with the collaboration of state agencies such as the security and immigration departments. Since it had been established that the virus was transmitted through direct contact with a person, surface, and airborne transmission, public sensitizations ought to have been carried out at the moment, ensuring that citizens observed the set healthcare guidelines.

Pedro

References

Chudik, A., Mohaddes, K., Pesaran, M. H., Raissi, M., & Rebucci, A. (2020, October 20). Economic consequences of Covid-19: a counterfactual multi-country analysis. Retrieved from The Forum ERF Policy Portal: https://theforum.erf.org.eg/2020/10/20/economic-co…

Hartnett, K. P., Kite-Powell, A., DeVies, J., Coletta, M. A., Boehmer, T. K., Adjemian, J., & Gundlapalli, A. V. (2020, June 2020). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits—United States, January 1, 2019–May 30, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(23), 699.

Lange, S. J., Ritchey, M. D., Goodman, A. B., Dias, T., Twentyman, E., Fuld, J., … & Yang, Q. (2020, June 26). Potential indirect effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on use of emergency departments for acute life‐threatening conditions—United States, January–May 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(25), 795-800.

RESPONSE 1

PROFESSOR QUESTION

Based on hindsight do you feel that the government provided enough information about what was going on during COVID and what are some lessons that could be learned going forward?

Professor,

COVID-19 Response in the United States

I feel that the government did not provide enough information about the happenings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The poor communication strategies adopted by the government hampered the virus management operations. For example, during the early stages of the virus, the US government ignored how the virus was spreading when it was reported for the first time. The government delayed banning social, religious, and political gatherings that risked the livelihoods of the citizens. The ignorance made the virus spread fast than it would have if timely cautions had been adopted. The poor communication amongst the relevant departments like the security and emergency response teams could be blamed for the fast spread of the virus. The departments would have developed solid control measures to mitigate and control the spread within the initial areas that reported the case for the first time.

Additionally, the country would have developed a communication strategy with their embassy in China to gather information on the virus. If the embassies had a communication strategy amongst themselves, the government would have received guidelines and advice to closed its borders. Also, when the country reported its first case, the healthcare department would have been empowered and funded to conduct contact tracing and limit inter-state movement (Balogun, 2020). Thus, communication amongst various departments would have harmonized the situation.

Going forward, countries can learn significant lessons based on the response to health emergencies. For example, when China reported its first case, very minimal information about the virus was available to the citizens and healthcare givers. Nurses, for example, risked their lives by offering healthcare services to patients without protective gear like Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like gloves and masks. Therefore, the government needs to create a robust emergency response team to handle such events. They also should train their healthcare givers and provide them with the necessary equipment to protect their lives. Lastly, hospitals need to upgrade, expand and equip their wards with essential equipment like ventilators to serve the overall demand.

Pedro

References

Balogun, J. (2020). Lessons from the USA Delayed Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 24(1), 14-21.

FINAL RESPONSE NEEDED:

PROFESSOR:

How could the lines of communication been better used? Please provide some examples.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Module 4 – Background

PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS

Required Reading

Bier, D., & Feeney, M. (2018). Drones on the border: Efficacy and privacy implications. CATO Institute. Retrieved from https://www.cato.org/publications/immigration-rese…

Microsoft Excel Tutorial for Beginners #1 – Overview. Retrieved from

National Incident Management System, 3rd. ed. (2017), FEMA, Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1508151197…

Shiu-Thornton et al. (2007). Disaster preparedness for limited English proficient communities: Medical Interpreters as cultural brokers and gatekeepers. Public Health Reports, 122(4), 466-471. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC18885…

Unmanned systems integrated roadmap FY2011 – 2036 (2011). FAS.org. Retrieved from https://fas.org/irp/program/collect/usroadmap2011….

Required Video

Just in Time Disaster Training Library. [nfrdstf]. (2013, September 25). Radiological terrorism: Training for hospital clinicians [Video file]. Retrieved from

Required Websites

California Earthquake Program. http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Cat_Nat_Disaster/…

Disaster Emergency Communications Division, FEMA: https://www.fema.gov/disaster-emergency-communicat…

FEMA: National Response Framework.https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/document…

Preparing Hospitals for Disasters: Emergency Operations Plan (EOP).
http://www.calhospitalprepare.org/emergency-operat…

Radiological dispersal devices (RDDs). Radiation Emergency Medical Management, HHS.
https://www.remm.nlm.gov/rdd.htm