Emergency Department Repeat Admissions Essay

Emergency Department Repeat Admissions
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Emergency Department Repeat Admissions
The dilemma
Healthcare professionals work in challenging environments. The demand for healthcare services has been increasing despite the government budget cuts on healthcare. The increasing population, aging seniors, and the prevalence of diseases, among other factors, have put more pressure on healthcare professionals and facilities (Cristea, Noja, Stefea & Sala, 2020). Due to this, healthcare Matt Losinski, the CEO of the County General Hospital (CGH), finds himself dealing with ethical dilemmas while performing his duties. The overuse of the emergency department (ED) at the CGH demonstrates the healthcare professionals’ challenges. In the facility, over $200,000 was never reimbursed. That is money that should be used to enhance healthcare services in the facility. Looking at the future, reimbursements are likely to keep reducing. The financial margins of the facility are thin, an indication that the facility’s financial health could be adversely affected in the coming days. The repeated admissions increase the number of patients seeking healthcare at the facility. This has led to overcrowding and treatment delays. Overall, the quality of services has degraded, leading to patient dissatisfaction. Due to the complexity of healthcare environments, healthcare professionals must identify and address ethical issues as they come up.
Moral Awareness
Moral awareness is the first step towards ethical decision-making. It implies appreciating the ethical aspects of an individual’s decision (Milliken, 2018). Where individuals do not consider the ethical dimensions of the issues at hand, they are more likely to act unethically. With moral awareness, people interpret situations as moral or ethical issues, which then triggers moral judgment. Such individuals are aware that their actions may benefit or harm others. Hence, when approaching problems, they are aware of the consequences that may arise from them. Some of the executive committee members were not morally aware. They did not understand the gravity of the matter. Their reaction was, “So what?” despite the evidence showing that the facility offered poor services in the ED.
The executive members should recognize the importance of being morally aware of the issues affective the facility. They should become sensitive to the plight of patients in the ED. The executives need to consider the pressure that nurses and other healthcare staff go through while dealing with the increasing number of patients. They need to consider how such an overload could affect the quality of services to the clients. Such recognition will allow the executives to make decisions that address the issues raised. The CEO needs to gather more information regarding the situation before presenting it to the executive. With more data, the executives will understand how the situation has deteriorated. The executives need to see how CGH has to fund itself since it no longer gets a tax subsidy. When the executives have more facts presented to them, they will consider being morally aware when making decisions.
Moral judgment
In moral judgment, in...