'Mama Might Be Better Off Dead Essay\r'

'â€Å"Mama top executive Be Better off Dead: the misadventure of Health Cargon in Urban the States” by Laurie Kaye Abraham, follows a families struggles oer the course of lead years in a curt wampum neighborhood. Abraham points out specific aloney how the health c atomic number 18 body in the United States has failed the different members of the poverty stricken Banes family. The main character, Jackie has the responsibility of taking cargon of her eruct and elderly grandmother. Jackie likewise guardianships for her three young children with myopic facilitate from her husband, Robert who also suffers from various harmnesses. While, there are just much or less government programs set up to suffice families like the Banes’, the health business system is certainly lacking.\r\nCora capital of Mississippi is an African the Statesn woman in her late sixties when the countersign begins. She suffers from some chronic conditions including high blood pressur e and diabetes. Cora had a limb amputated because of complications from her diabetes. Diabetics often assume distressing circulation in their extremities which hinders wounds from violate properly. Besides being bed-ridden and wheel chair bound, Mrs. capital of Mississippi suffers from bed sores and incontinency. She also sufferers from s evere depression over losing her leg which is common among many with physical disabilities. Despite, her poor health Cora Jackson remains the matriarch of the family.\r\nMrs. Jackson raised Jackie as a young little girl and before becoming ill, had a remarkable descent with her great-granddaughter Latrice. As time goes on, Mrs. Jackson becomes more ill and Latrice begins to pull away from her great-grandmother. This seems projectable because it must be very difficult for children to understand and deal with the terminally ill. Jackie however, remains warm and caring toward her grandmother. She expresses her frustrations, plainly few of th em are aimed at her grandmother. Most of them are aimed at the doctors and particular government agencies set up to wield and help her grandmother.\r\nObtaining health care services is non an easy task for Cora Jackson. Jackie, the prime caregiver for Mrs. Jackson, experiences struggles on a solar day to day basis. For example, Mrs. Jackson suffers from incontinence which makes her a candidate for adult diapers. However, Medicare sees adult diapers as more of a public lavatory item and do non see them as medically undeniable. Medicare also interbreeds a large portion of health visits and treatments but they fail to understand the transportation involve of discriminate patient roles. As a result, Mrs. Jackson is forced to dominate many scheduled appointments. She misses out on many treatments that are recommended by her doctors. Consequently, Cora is forced to fix her be leg removed because of an infection which could have been caught sooner. Jackie resorts to trade an ambulance to transport her grandmother to the hospital. This results in in some problems because the ambulance pips her to the closest hospital which is does not have all of her medical records.\r\nI am puzzled by many of these rules and policies. First off, I do not understand how adult diapers are not deemed medically indispensable. Diapers are seemed prerequisite for infants. Why aren’t they necessary for adults who suffer from incontinence? Also, adult diapers help foresee bed sores which many elderly, bed-ridden patients suffer from. This can counteract future hospitalizations and procedures caused by infection. I also have a problem with Medicaid’s spend beat policy. Every month, Mrs. Jackson is required to spend a certain amount on medical needs in order to become eligible for Medicaid. By the time, she meets the requirement, she has to do it all over again. Also, there are some services that the Banes are not cognisant they are entitled to. For example, Medicare covers phra guess health aid for those sick plenty to require visits from a home nurse. Jackie turns down this service because she is mistaken and believes it will monetary value her 110 dollars a month. No one ever tells her this service is free.\r\nThere are many changes in the health care delivery system that would have improved the experiences of Mrs. Jackson. First of all, keeping track of a monthly spend down of an elderly, disenable patient is ridiculous. In Mrs. Jackson’s case, she needed Medicaid to cover her transportation needs. Its close to impossible to schedule appointments and procedures if you are not sure how you are going to perk up there. Other patients use Medicaid for numerous reasons. A give away option for Medicaid would be to take an average of a few months expenses and use that to determine eligibility for longer than a month at a time. It is common for patients to spend the same amount on medication from each one month. They also try to visit doctors on a regular basis.\r\nKnowing they are covered by Medicaid for longer than a month, would be a big relief. The patients could keep their appointments without worrying about transportation costs. Also, practice of medicine could be taken as directed quite of trying to make it last longer in fear of losing coverage the next month. Another orbit which needs addressing is in the area of medically necessary items. Who determines if adult diapers is necessary or a convenience? For an elderly person who does not want to walkway to the wash room after going to the bathroom, I can see how diapers would be convenient. But what about the person with no legs and not adequate enough help to lift them out of bed? I would definitely say adult diapers is medically necessary for this person.\r\nAs a social worker in health care, I would definitely try to be of assistance to Mrs. Jackson. First of all, I would encourage Jackie to take advantage of the services set up to help h er and her family. Then I would make sure she was certain of all they were entitled to. It is very common for poor people not to understand government policies, specially Medicare and Medicaid. I feel there should be more services to explain and help people understand certain policies. Regular visits from a home health aide could have helped both Jackie and Mrs. Jackson immensely. I would talk to her about the stress of taking care of three children, a sick husband and an elderly, disabled grandmother. Paying attention to Jackie’s needs, as she is the primary caregiver, may give her a more sink mind to make decisions for her grandmother.\r\nI would also dispute with Jackie all of her options. Jackie could have put her grandmother into a care for home but neglected to do so until the very end of her illness. I would constrict out the advantages and disadvantages of Mrs. Jackson living in a home. Jackie was scared that by putting her grandmother into a home, she would fee l unloved and neglected. I would explain to Jackie, that the care she would receive would be twenty-four hours a day. This would mean, no more missed doctors appointments, no more missed medication and all of her medical records would be in one place. I feel their would be an adjoin in her quality of life. Jackie states â€Å"Mama, might be better off Dead”. Why not try putting mama in a nursing home first?\r\nIn conclusion, â€Å"Mama power Be Better off Dead: the trouble of Health Care in Urban America” really shows many areas of human suffering. In a country based on freedom and compare for all, the area of health care could not be further from equal in America. Every day we see talks of health care repair in the news. Political candidates form plans in their campaigns. However, this book puts a real face on the tribulation of health care in America. I accept more people become aware of how gravely change is needed and they choose to become actively involved in the reform of the system.\r\n'