Reference no: EM133457676
Case Study: Congratulations! You have been hired as Assistant Manager of a Home Health Care Agency. The agency offers a wide range of skilled medical services such as nursing care, physical therapy, and occupational therapy from qualified medical professionals. The agency also provides home health aide services including assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing and eating.
Your supervisor told you that she recently received a call from an advocate whom an employee consulted via the Employee Assistance Program because the employee felt that she had been treated unfairly after contracting an illness. She explained that a few months ago, one of your agency's home health aides, Sara, became ill. Sara had been coughing for approximately six weeks, lost weight without trying, had no appetite, was having difficulty sleeping, and had intermittent fever. She became concerned and went to see a healthcare professional who diagnosed her with active tuberculosis (TB).
Sara missed a lot of time from work while completing treatment for TB. Her physician cleared her to return to work after she was no longer contagious. Upon returning to work, Sara felt isolated because her boss and co-workers refused to spend time with her. She heard that someone from the agency's Human Resources Department told her co-workers her diagnosis. The stressful circumstances at work became even worse when another home health aide started to display the same symptoms Sara had.
Your supervisor has asked you to review the entire situation and how it was handled by the agency.
Questions: In the scenario from Module 1, we see a co-worker of Sara displaying symptoms of TB. View the video by Scientific Animations Without Borders. (2012). Tuberculosis Prevention in English. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBdC9H00BHY before responding to the following questions:
- How could have the organization prevented the likelihood of Sara and her co-worker contracting the disease? Explain.
- Explain the organization's role and responsibilities in providing safety to workers on the job.
- What are the rights and responsibilities of workers to ensure their own safety in the job?
- What are some of the leadership qualities needed to prevent workers from being exposed to communicable diseases?