week 5 critical essay paper - Google Docs

pdf

School

Baylor University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

5330

Subject

Business

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

pdf

Pages

Uploaded by brendahelenaa

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez Week 5 Critical Essay Brenda Martinez-Tamez College of Business, Wilmington University HCA 7700: Seminar in Healthcare Administration Dr. Fox April 17, 2021

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez What is the challenge faced by Martin Memorial Hospital? Medical repatriation occurs when a hospital decides that it is more cost-effective for them to send an undocumented patient to their home country than to care for them. The Martin Memorial Hospital is facing a challenge involving two flawed American systems- immigration and healthcare. When undocumented immigrants show up at any hospital with traumatic injuries, the hospitals will treat them until they are in a stabalized state. However, these patients typically will require long-term care as well. Since Medicaid does not cover this long-term care for undocumented immigrants, hospitals try to pass the patients on to nursing homes, which usually reject the uninsured patients. From 2001-2003, a Guatemalan undocumented immigrant resided at a the Martin Memorial Hospital in Florida after an accident that left him as a paraplegic with brain damage. He had over 1.5 million dollars worth of healthcare services and was forcibly discharged by the hospital and returned to Guatemala at a cost of 30,000 dollars. The hospital also has legal fees to add to that because the family of Jimenez that lives in the United States believed it was inappropriate for them to return him without consent and chose to sue. Who’s been affected by this challenge (Identify the specific group of persons, organizations, government(s))? This challenges affects hospitals, nursing homes, undocumented immigrants, immigrants who have been in the United States for less than five years, the United States government, and the home countries of undocumented immigrants. This case starts several conversations that can strongly impact these groups. The ruling is significant because it leads to many more questions.

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez For example, (Patsner, 2008) asks “Do undocumented immigrants have a right to healthcare? Do U.S. Hospitals Have a Legal Right to Repatriate Uninsured Immigrants Back to Their Country of Origin?” The answers to these questions are disputable. Undocumented immigrants are affected the most by these questions since it is their lives that are at risk. Luckily, hospitals are unable to deny patient care in an emergency due to the 1986 Emergency Medical and Treatment Labor Act. However, long-term care can be different. Medicaid does not cover long-term care for undocumented immigrants, which causes hospitals to arrange long-term care for those who need it. It is difficult for a hospital to arrange long-term care for someone who cannot pay because most places will not accept a patient if they will not be reimbursed. This can leave repatriation as the only option in many cases. If patients are repatriated after an accident that happened in America, then they may not be receiving adequate healthcare. Before the repatriation, the hospital should secure a safe healthcare provider in the homeland, but where is the standard for quality? Jimenez was taken to the highest quality facility in his home country, yet it did not compare to the care that he was receiving in America. Many may argue that he does not deserve American healthcare because he did not happen to be born in America, but is it not immoral to essentially dump a patient based on the status of their citizenship? On the other hand, hospitals are also trying their best to fulfill the patient’s requirements with a sustainable use of resources. They have to choose between repatriating the undocumented patient or “losing enormous sums of money which will further complicate their ability to care for indigent U.S. citizens.” (Patsner, 2008) If repatriations become even more common, healthcare organizations in third-world countries will become overwhelmed with patients who were not accepted in America. Although they are willing to help these people, they may not have the ability to provide the care that they

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez need. In the Jimenez case, the care facility in Guatemala that he was sent to had to discharge him after a short amount of time because they ran out of space when new patients were repatriated from America. What are the implications of this challenge on healthcare in America? American hospitals across the US are repatriating seriously injured patients to third-world hospitals. The hospitals are operating in this way without governmental assistance or oversight. From a purely monetary perspective, it is easy to see that it is unsustainable for hospitals to use all of their resources on uninsured patients. From an ethical perspective, repatriation is extremely harmful to these human beings and there is nothing more valuable than a human life. Putting their healthcare quality at risk or delaying their care during critical periods can significantly lower their quality of life. This seems to be a lose-lose situation; immigration and healthcare systems need to work together towards creating a detailed and official plan for these situations. What solutions/alternatives have others proposed to solve this challenge? (External research needed) It is important to incorporate the set repatriation practices in immigration. This way, undocumented immigrants will recieve the care that they need and the healthcare provider will not be severely financially burdened. Since it is unsustainable for a hospital to continue to treat an uninsured patient along with the rest of the patients needing treatment, the best step towards solving this issue is reforming the process of repatriation. Healthcare organizations should establish a consistent plan to care for patients who are undocumented in the most ethical way possible (Paik, 2002). The role of the hospital is to find the best treatment for the patient in an economically sustainable manner. Repatriation management should be approached with the goal

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez of setting the patient up for success at a location more convenient for everyone involved. They should send a skilled and empathetic nurse to carefully assess if the new location will meet the needs of the patients. The patient or guardian should be fully informed on the procedure and sign a consent form for the transfer. Kuczewski (2012) argues that in order to perform an ethical medical repatriation, it must align with the mission of hospitals. He explains that the three standards that need to be met for a repatriation to be considered ethical include the “patient best interests, medical due diligence, and informed consent.” These should be a part of a documented mandatory procedure for when repatriations are used as the last resort in the United States. What ideas do you have to solve this challenge? Besides creating an approved official system for repatriation procedures, I suggest creating awareness on these incidents so that concerned individuals can work together to create a non-profit organization that volunteers to help care for immigrant patients. Spreading awareness and getting people involved is the first step towards making a change. This could be a great opportunity for willing students who are looking to gain experience throughout college or high school. They will learn about healthcare and immigration policies whether it is in their field of study or not. These organizations can also raise funds to help care for the needs of the patients in the United States, or for the healthcare facilities in third-world countries that receive the repatriated undocumented immigrants. It is a long way towards establishing successful healthcare organizations around the world, but if they focus on at least one in each country that America can partner with when practicing repatriation, then the ethical concerns will be reduced. I also believe this is a great opportunity to change the negative narrative of undocumented immigrants in the US. Immigrants pay taxes and contribute to the country’s GDP

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez just like other citizens. When these people travel to the United States illegally, it is usually in order to escape harsh or dangerous living conditions or to provide for their families. For this issue to be resolved, immigrants need to be treated with respect and seen as equal human beings.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Luis Jimenez v Martin Memorial Hospital Case Brenda Martinez-Tamez References Bruce Patsner, M.D., J.D., B. (2008, December). Repatriation of Uninsured Immigrants by U.S. Hospitals: The Jimenez Case. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/2008/(BP)%20deport.pdf Fruth, S. (2015). Medical repatriation: The intersection of mandated emergency care, immigration consequences, and international obligations. Journal of Legal Medicine, 36 (1), 45-72. doi:10.1080/01947648.2015.1049918 Kuczewski, M. (2012). Response to open peer commentaries on “can medical repatriation be ethical? Establishing best practices”. The American Journal of Bioethics, 12 (9). doi:10.1080/15265161.2012.701563 Paik, Y., Segaud, B., & Malinowski, C. (2002). How to improve repatriation management. International Journal of Manpower, 23 (7), 635-648. doi:10.1108/01437720210450815

week 5 critical essay paper - Google Docs

Related Documents