Reference no: EM133641287

Assignment:

Short Case: Arthur and Merryann

Meet Arthur and Merryann. Arthur and Merryann were married for 50 years and raised two children. Their son is in the Marines and currently resides at Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, NC. Their daughter is a teacher in State College, PA.

Arthur worked at the same company, an organization that laundered uniforms, since he was 13. With hard work and commitment, he eventually worked his way up to managing the company. Merryann was a homemaker before going back to cosmetology school in her late 40s and then working as a cosmetologist.

At age 65, Arthur was ready to retire. Unfortunately, Arthur did not have a retirement plan option with his company nor did Merryann as she only worked two days a week as a cosmetologist. In an effort to stretch their minimum Social Security income, they decided to relocate to Jacksonville, NC, where their son resided as the cost of living was low and they would still have family available to assist them if needed.

Unfortunately, within five years of relocating, Merryann began to show signs and symptoms of emphysema. She was later diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As the disease progressed, Merryann was placed on continuous oxygen and encountered flare ups requiring frequent trips to the emergency room to stabilize her condition. Merryann was increasingly bedbound as any movement was exhausting. She eventually became incontinent of bowel and bladder.

Arthur was by Merryann's side 24 hours, 7 days a week, tending to her needs. It became increasingly difficult for him to manage all aspects of her care, particularly as he struggled with his own health issues including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Their son was helping him as he could, however he received military orders and was being deployed at the end of the month. Their daughter flew down frequently to assist and offered to move them back up north, however they felt the ride would be too difficult for Merryann at this point.

Arthur paid privately to have a home health aide come and assist with personal care items, however their minimal savings was quickly exhausted. Combine Arthur's failing health and Merryann's condition with dwindling financial resources, and we have the perfect storm, one that far too many older adults try to weather.

Initial Discussion Reply

Using the information in the textbook and our lesson, as well as your own knowledge and experience, please respond to the following questions in your initial discussion reply:

• What residential long-term care options can Arthur consider for both himself and Merryann?
• Based on your selected option from Question 1, what are the requirements? Does Arthur and Merryann meet the requirements?
• Recall from Lesson 1, we discussed placement in the long-term care is often determined by four factors (acuity level, availability of services, patient preferences, ability to pay). Do these factors impact Arthur and Merryann's options, if so, how?
• What are the benefits of the selected option to Arthur? To Merryann?
• Is there anything Arthur and Merryann could have done differently to prepare for these events? Explain.

Please use references and use detail when answering this.