Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
The author of this paper lives in Miami, FL, which has several local newspapers that discuss policy issues. For this assignment, they have chosen an article that was posted on the Miami Herald website on May 8. It discusses the continued failure of numerous nursing homes to comply with the 2018 regulation that requires them to have sources of emergency power or other methods of ensuring safety during an outage. The policy issue involved in the local governments continued distribution of temporary exemptions from the law for various reasons despite the endangerment of patient safety that results from such an act. The author intends to exercise their advocacy powers in the future to push for the issue to be resolved. This paper will provide a summary and analysis of the article as well as an explanation of the advocacy effort.
The article discusses the origins of the law as well as its current implementation and enforcement. Miller and Klas (2020) claim that it was passed after the numerous nursing home deaths due to Hurricane Irma, but after the disasters passing, the state began granting variances to homes. The cited reason was generally that the facility could not afford a generator at the time. However, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and the economic decline that has resulted from it, the financial state of most nursing homes is worse than before. As such, those without generators are unlikely to obtain them in time for the hurricane season. Enforcement of the law would be challenging under these circumstances, which is especially problematic because of the danger that the novel virus presents to seniors.
The authors proceed to discuss both state efforts to address the issue and the failures of some of their systems, which misrepresented the situation to citizens. Miller and Klas (2020) claim that the Agency for Health Care Administration has chosen not to grant any waivers that extend past June 1, which is the beginning of the hurricane season. At the same time, they provide the example of the Golden Glades Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. It has a misleading listing on AHCAs website and has received exemptions despite its repeated severe violations of both the new law and standard regulations. This part was particularly relevant to the author, as they have a relative in a nursing home and are now concerned that it may not be following the necessary safety procedures. The article ends with state Senate President Wilton Simpsons statement that the practice of not including backup generators is irresponsible.
The neutrality of the article warrants some discussion, as it appears to be somewhat biased against the nursing homes and does not consider their circumstances. However, as Ashley et al. (2018) note, the center that defines neutrality is not absolute and may incorporate some biases that are not necessarily negative. The perspective that seniors should have their well-being and lives protected is not likely to be considered controversial. From this point of view, the article appears to be neutral, discussing both the statements of the agencies involved and the actions that they have taken. It provides statistics regarding compliance with the law and a critical perspective of the reasons why not all care facilities have installed generators so far. Ultimately, the article shows that all of the parties involved are responsible for some part of the situation and indicates efforts to resolve it.
As the issue is unlikely to be resolved before the end of May, it will probably remain pertinent later on. As such, the author should be able to exercise their powers of advocacy to achieve a change in government policy and resolve the issue. Maton (2017) provides examples of volunteering for related causes and participating in local advocacy efforts as practices that people can use regardless of their direct influence on the policy. The author can support initiatives that call for stricter compliance enforcement to demonstrate a widespread public concern to the government. They can also spread awareness of the issue, calling out the dangers of failing to provide adequate accommodations. They can also identify the problems with the standard method of gathering every patient in a single cool space that has emerged as a result of COVID-19.
Overall, the article identifies a current and pertinent local policy issue that may lead to the loss of numerous lives and concerns the author indirectly as a result. The legislation that is discussed in the article is warranted and necessary due to Miamis weather conditions, as proven by the tragedies that occurred during Hurricane Irma. However, the governments failure to enforce its laws adequately has left many senior people, who are already at risk from the current pandemic, vulnerable to the hurricanes that occur regularly in Florida. The author considers the article to be mostly neutral, as it investigated every involved party and found oversights in many practices. In the future, they can participate in efforts to spread awareness and support senior advocacy groups to drive a response from the local government.
References
Ashley, S., Roberts, J., & Maksl, A. (2018). American journalism and fake news : Examining the facts. ABC-CLIO.
Maton, K. I. (2017). Influencing social policy: Applied psychology serving the public interest. Oxford University Press.
Miller, C. M., & Klas, M. E. (2020). Floridas lax oversight of nursing homes spills over from one deadly crisis to the next. Miami Herald. Web.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.