Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

There are many healthcare facilities that need to make significant investments to strengthen healthcare surge capacity addressing shortages facing healthcare workers in the U.S. The American Nurses Association’s position on a poor patient-to-nurse ratio emphasizes organizations’ invaluable function in meeting society’s healthcare needs. Furthermore, the poor patient-to-nurse ratio is significant among ethnic communities. Thus, the ANA’s efforts are directed toward creating a modern healthcare environment within the U.S. by influencing policies dedicated to decision-making that ensures all Americans have access to quality and safe healthcare (Riley, 2012). Furthermore, the ANA strongly supports healthcare policies after Covid-19 exposed the healthcare workforce gap among minority communities. The ANA supports various policies targeting students from diverse communities with scholarships and loan repayment funding to qualified healthcare professionals in exchange for offering services in underserved settings. Thus, such policies align with the ANA objective to offer each individual accessible quality and safe care (Riley, 2012).

Various policies can be developed to extend the healthcare workforce in America to meet the statewide challenges that COVID-19 has highlighted. There are numerous beneficiaries of the proposed policy. Ethnic communities would benefit in two phases. Foremost, the bill advocates offering scholarships to promising students from diverse communities to pursue healthcare-related careers. Secondly, it attempts to incentivize practicing healthcare professionals with loan repayment funds if they go and practice in understaffed healthcare environments, which are overwhelmingly located within underprivileged communities (Riley, 2012). Due to the current healthcare disparity within U.S. communities, the healthcare policy would not be opposed since it aims to increase healthcare inclusivity at the grassroots. The policy has significant implications for the code of ethics. The policy upholds justice, a principle of the nursing code. According to the code, a nursing practitioner should care for patients with the same level of fairness irrespective of their financial capability, ethnicity, religion, and gender. In this regard, the proposed policy aims to balance healthcare delivery by incentivizing practitioners to offer services in underserved neighborhoods (Noonan et al., 2016). Most underserved communities are comprised of ethnic minorities such as Latinos and African Americans. Additionally, such communities cannot afford private healthcare facilities. Thus, the policy ensures that the medical needs of underprivileged communities are adequately met with well-staffed and qualified practitioners.

 References

Riley, W. J. (2012). Health disparities: gaps in access, quality and affordability of medical care. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 123, 167.

Noonan, A. S., Velasco-Mondragon, H. E., & Wagner, F. A. (2016). Improving the health of African Americans in the USA: an overdue opportunity for social justice. Public health reviews, 37(1), 1-20.