Community Health Nurse (CHN) is a specialized nurse who seeks out patients in their homes or institutions to ensure that they attain human dignity despite the healthcare vagaries facing them. Among the communities that stand in dire need of the services of a CHN are elderly people, whether at home or community centers, due to the healthcare problems that come with an advanced age (Moss et al., 2017). The CHN combines the role of a clinician, care giver, a relative who stands with the patient, and also an advocate who presents the case of the patients and their communities to the relevant authorities.
Community Setting
The community on focus in the instant research paper in an inner city, predominantly African American community whose members are relatively poor. They live in a form of a village made up of small houses and even makeshift residences. Some members of the communities have families that are complete with parents and children but most of the members in the community are elderly. Majority of the elderly members have lived in the community for decades with some being too old or weak to work, yet string enough to be able to live on their own.
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Whereas all people deserve the assistance of a CHN, the focus on this research paper are the elderly people who fall within a specified category. The specific category comprises of both men and women who are over the age of 55 and are too weak to be economically productive. However, the category has neither been institutionalized, hospitalized, nor placed in a communal home as they are still capable of taking care of themselves. Majority of them are either pensioners, on welfare, or having family members who take care of them. They are also covered by their state’s Medicaid program (Moss et al., 2017).
The community members described above fall under the US Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) (Moss et al., 2017). At the cost of the US government in conjunction with the state organs, they receive a variety of services from the CHN. For a start, the CHN plays a clinical role among these patients. It is the role of the nursing officer to carefully evaluate these patients, find out if they need any specialized care, and also prescribe medication for managing the simple or chronic conditions that they may be suffering. The CHN also plays a second role of care-giving. This includes cleaning and dressing the patients if they have any injuries and ensuring that they take their medication as and when they should. The third role of the CHN is that of a public health educator. The CHN advices, instructs, and enlightens the members of the community on how to live healthy, hygienic, and meaningful lives (Moss et al., 2017).
The primary role of the nurse from the perspective of health promotion has been defined by Muntean, Tomita, and Ungureanu (2013) as the human dignity narrative. Providing human dignity to a patient means enabling the patient to be able to live like other members of the community. That dignity can be attained by mitigating the limitations that come with the conditions that the patient is undergoing. As these individuals are too weak to earn, the first point of intervention with regard to health promotion is linking them with organizations that can assist them find pecuniary subsistence.
Apart from money, the individuals also need enlightenment and information about how to live a dignified life in spite of their circumstances in life. The information includes issues such as proper nutrition with limited resources, proper hygiene, avoidance of injuries that come with a weakening body structure, and preventative health (Muntean, Tomita, & Ungureanu, 2013). Many of the individuals within the group on focus have a variety of acute or chronic illnesses that have also contributed to their inability to earn. Ensuring that they get proper treatment, equipment, and pharmacological intervention is also part of the intervention needed. The main organization involved in assisting such communities is the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as outlined by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under the program, state and national governments join hands to assist elderly vulnerable communities (Moss et al., 2017).
Professional Nursing Organization
The American Nursing Association (ANA) in conjunction with the Quad Council Coalition of Public Health Nursing Organizations offer support to CHNs who work with elderly members of the community. The ANA is the largest professional organization of nurses in the USA and is involved in the training, certification, and licensing of nurses. The ANA provides support towards the training of nurses to develop the skills necessary for practice in the CHN category defined above. It also provides advocacy to the government, not for profit organizations, and allied corporations for community support to assist nurses who are involved in assisting elderly patients.
The most significant contribution of the ANA to the CHN cause on focus herein is lobbying for better laws, rules, and policies with regard to elderly patients at the state and federal level. The ANA spends millions of dollars lobbying legislators and administrators all over the USA in order to attain a better public health environment for all patients, including the elderly.
Summary
Nurses are an integral part of the community who have an obligation to ensure that the crisis never happens, is mitigated if it ever occurs, and efforts are taken to ensure that the crisis never happens again. CHN takes the forefront in leading nurses carry out the public health role. The CHN does not wait for the patient to come to the hospital but follows them to their homes, hospices, and other centers, so as to care for their public and overall health.
References
Moss, K. O., Deutsch, N. L., Hollen, P. J., Rovnyak, V. G., Williams, I. C., & Rose, K. M. (2017). Understanding end-of-life decision-making terminology among African American older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing , 44 (2), 33-40
Muntean, A., Tomita, M., & Ungureanu, R. (2013). The role of the community nurse in promoting health and human dignity-narrative review article. Iranian Journal of Public Health , 42 (10), 1077-1084
