Introduction
Several state and federal regulations have been implemented to ensure the continued support of the long-term health of vulnerable adults. Most of the vulnerable people are the elderly. It is in this light that the United States developed regulations to ensure that the old are cared for at all times.
Examples of such regulations are the Older Americans Act and the Vulnerable Adults Act (Day, 2014). One would choose to research on the Vulnerable Adults Act because there is a considerable number of old people who are reported to have been abused in nursing homes. The initial pre-conceived assumptions of this Act are that the elderly and other vulnerable adults are only taken care of when they get very sick and in cases where they are reported to have committed specific actions that portray signs of alienation and disillusionment.
The Vulnerable Adults Act and Its Implementation
This Act was enacted in 1981 to protect the rights of vulnerable adults. The state and federal governments continually ensure that the Act is followed to the letter. One such example is the state government of Minnesota, which has laid down statutes to enforce the Vulnerable Adults Act. Statute 626:557 mandates the federal government of Minnesota to protect the rights of the vulnerable adults (Revisor of Statutes-State of Minnesota, 2014).
The agency that carries this mandate is the DHS Adult Protective Services Unit. The statute goes on to define the vulnerable adults, whom it describes as the individuals who cannot defend themselves against maltreatment due to their physical or mental challenges. This statute also makes it possible to conduct the investigations of the reports that give instances where the vulnerable adults have been mistreated.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health (2012), the need to report mistreatment cases has prompted some states to come up with effective mechanisms to report such cases. For example, the state of Minnesota has instituted the Office of Health Facility Complaints (OHFC). This office has been useful in investigating and reporting cases of maltreatment against vulnerable adults.
The department has been mandated to inspect all the health facilities prior to licensing them to handle vulnerable adults (Minnesota Department of Health, 2012). Any allegation or non-compliance with the Vulnerable Adults Act is swiftly dealt with by this department. However, it is sad to note that there has been an increasing trend in the mistreatment of vulnerable adults. The mistreatment is mainly in nursing homes, with hospitals reporting abuse in a magnitude that is half the harm experienced in nursing homes (Minnesota Department of Health, 2012).
The effect of the enactment of the Vulnerable Adults Act is that many adults who are considered vulnerable are taken care of in a humane and passionate manner. The health of these adults depends on the effort that the state, as well as the federal government, makes towards their Medicare and Medicaid programs. The state and federal governments have been supportive of the implementation of this regulation.
One of the ways in which these governments have shown continued support for the protection of vulnerable adults is through the provision of finances (Day, 2014). According to Day (2014), the government of the United States allocated close to $1, 369,028,000 for the support of elder and vulnerable adults in 2005. The ethical implication that is associated with the application of the Vulnerable Adults Act is that care should be emphasized to handle the old and the mentally challenged adults in a humane manner. Additionally, reports of mistreatment in this particular group of individuals should be thoroughly investigated and analyzed to avoid cases of misjudgment on the suspected individuals (Day, 2014).
Recommendations as a Long-term Director
As a long-term director, I would ensure the implementation of this regulation by placing strict measures that would realize the maximum protection of vulnerable adults. Given that nursing homes are the leading facilities that have been reported to mistreat vulnerable adults, I would ensure that every person that works in any nursing home signs an “ethical and mistreatment against vulnerable adults” agreement form.
Precise definitions of mistreatment of vulnerable adults would be provided in this form. In addition, there would be penalties any person that contravenes the laid rules would face. This approach would reduce the high number of mistreatment cases that are reported in nursing homes. The same approach would apply to personnel working in hospitals and any other institution where the mistreatment of vulnerable adults is reported.
Personally, I would not recommend changes to the existing law on the protection against vulnerable adults. The law is comprehensive enough to protect the rights of adults, especially those who are deemed to be vulnerable. The only challenge that state and federal governments face in the implementation of this law is the aspect of the law being more lenient to the offenders and violators of the law. Very few cases of prosecution have been reported on those who mistreat the vulnerable groups in one way or the other. If the government of the day becomes more stringent in prosecuting the breakers of this law, then the mistreatment of vulnerable adults will reduce significantly.
My earlier assumptions that the vulnerable adults are only cared for in case they are totally sick or they act in ways that portray signs of alienation and disillusioned have been challenged in a resounding way. There are many regulations that govern the protection of vulnerable adults under long-term care. The Vulnerable Adults Act of 1981 is a policy that ensures every vulnerable adult is cared for in all the states of the United States. Some states have even gone a mile further to establish particular institutions that are trusted with dealing with cases of mistreatment of vulnerable adults, especially in the nursing homes.
Conclusion
It is very likely for one to assume that the vulnerable adults are being mistreated, even in the nursing homes. However, there are mechanisms that the state, as well as the federal government, has put in place to ensure that the vulnerable group of adults is not mistreated. The ‘Older Americans Act’ and the ‘Vulnerable Adults Act’ of 1981 are examples of policies that governments have adopted in the fight against the mistreatment of the physically and mentally challenged adults.
In fact, the state of Minnesota has instituted the ‘Office of Health Facility Complaints’ that is mandated with implementing the rules of the Vulnerable Adults Act. The statute 626:557 stipulates the procedure for reporting, investigating, and analyzing cases of mistreatment of vulnerable adults. There is no need to change the existing law on vulnerable adults, as the implementation of the law is the underlying challenge to its effectiveness.
References
Day, T. (2014). About the National Aging Network. The National Care Planning Council (NCPC). Web.
Minnesota Department of Health. (2012). Complaint investigations of Minnesota health care Facilities. Web.
Revisor of Statutes-State of Minnesota. (2014). 2014 Minnesota Statutes. Web.