d) Pros and Cons of Policy and Program Interventions for Elderly Care
The last element of the United States elderly care system compromises of programs and policies that are classified as institutional and legislative responses to aging in the United States. According to Bookman and Kimbrel (2011) and Wise and Yashiro (2006), Medicare is an example of a functional policy in the United States for the elderly, under which senior citizen over 65 years, and who have a Medicare insurance cover during their days of employment are eligible for insurance cover. Medicare is another insurance policy that also covers the elderly. Other examples of policies for the elderly in the United States include the Social Security Act of 1935, Older Americans …show more content…
One of the reasons of high rates of abuse of the elderly is incompetence and inhumanity among caregivers in caregiving facilities. McNamee and Murphy (2006) employ Cullen’s case to portray a clear picture of how incompetency culminates in the abuse of the elderly in the United States. Cullen, an experienced geriatric nurse, is reported to have deliberately administered lethal medication doses to approximately forty patients for over a decade. Owing to the fact that most of the early victims of Cullen’s unprofessionalism and unethical conduct were elderly, coupled with the failure and reluctance of the facility to conduct toxicological tests to detect the felony, Cullen remained unnoticed of having committed homicide. To exacerbate the situation, McNamee and Murphy (2006) record that forensic evidence was lost as no criminal investigation was prompted to detect any incidence of unnoticed homicide for a number of years. It is apparent that Cullen’s inhumanity and lack of competency led to many unmerited deaths of the elderly, and it is no surprise that such misconducts are prevalent in United States’ facilities for the elderly. Such incompetency requires revitalization of geriatric educational institutions, where nurses and other geriatric professionals undergo strict and rigorous training, followed by accreditation on …show more content…
There is a deficiency in the knowledge of recognizing and preventing elder abuse incidences, coupled with reluctance in prosecuting the culprits of elder abuse (McNamee & Murphy (2006). Such inadequacies have left many senior citizens undeservingly suffering and dying, with the actual causes of their deaths being disguised in aging as far as their families and relatives are concerned. Abuse of the elderly is also high because social justice reinforcement personnel are deficiently trained. Professional medical practitioners in the United States may report abuse suspicions, but unfortunately, the police, who are rarely trained on detecting elder-related abuse, fail in collecting forensic evidence as they are not acquainted with the skills of interviewing elders suffering for dementias. Other causes of high rates of elder abuse in the United States include attitudes that impede investigations, hesitancy in abuse reporting, victims’ vulnerability, and little emphasis of elder postmortem to determine whether or not aging is the actual cause of their
The last element of the United States elderly care system compromises of programs and policies that are classified as institutional and legislative responses to aging in the United States. According to Bookman and Kimbrel (2011) and Wise and Yashiro (2006), Medicare is an example of a functional policy in the United States for the elderly, under which senior citizen over 65 years, and who have a Medicare insurance cover during their days of employment are eligible for insurance cover. Medicare is another insurance policy that also covers the elderly. Other examples of policies for the elderly in the United States include the Social Security Act of 1935, Older Americans …show more content…
One of the reasons of high rates of abuse of the elderly is incompetence and inhumanity among caregivers in caregiving facilities. McNamee and Murphy (2006) employ Cullen’s case to portray a clear picture of how incompetency culminates in the abuse of the elderly in the United States. Cullen, an experienced geriatric nurse, is reported to have deliberately administered lethal medication doses to approximately forty patients for over a decade. Owing to the fact that most of the early victims of Cullen’s unprofessionalism and unethical conduct were elderly, coupled with the failure and reluctance of the facility to conduct toxicological tests to detect the felony, Cullen remained unnoticed of having committed homicide. To exacerbate the situation, McNamee and Murphy (2006) record that forensic evidence was lost as no criminal investigation was prompted to detect any incidence of unnoticed homicide for a number of years. It is apparent that Cullen’s inhumanity and lack of competency led to many unmerited deaths of the elderly, and it is no surprise that such misconducts are prevalent in United States’ facilities for the elderly. Such incompetency requires revitalization of geriatric educational institutions, where nurses and other geriatric professionals undergo strict and rigorous training, followed by accreditation on …show more content…
There is a deficiency in the knowledge of recognizing and preventing elder abuse incidences, coupled with reluctance in prosecuting the culprits of elder abuse (McNamee & Murphy (2006). Such inadequacies have left many senior citizens undeservingly suffering and dying, with the actual causes of their deaths being disguised in aging as far as their families and relatives are concerned. Abuse of the elderly is also high because social justice reinforcement personnel are deficiently trained. Professional medical practitioners in the United States may report abuse suspicions, but unfortunately, the police, who are rarely trained on detecting elder-related abuse, fail in collecting forensic evidence as they are not acquainted with the skills of interviewing elders suffering for dementias. Other causes of high rates of elder abuse in the United States include attitudes that impede investigations, hesitancy in abuse reporting, victims’ vulnerability, and little emphasis of elder postmortem to determine whether or not aging is the actual cause of their