To: The Governor
From:
Date:
Re: Handling the elderly in a crisis
The situation
The elderly in society is one of the most fundamental groups of people. A good society is determined by how it handles its elderly people. However, this is not the case currently because this group of people feels neglected. In most cases when society is hit by a crisis, the elderly have turned out to be the most affected by the situation. Major crises have occurred like natural disasters or infectious diseases. the elderly find it difficult to protect themselves without support from others. Measures to protect the elderly from these effects of various crises should now be taken.
Consider a deadly disease crisis that hit the world recently, the novel COVID-19. The world was hit by the crisis COVID-19 which came into existence as from December 2019. The death rates as a result of the disease of older people aged about 80 years now stand at 15%. The elderly seem to be more vulnerable to the disease than any other group of people. The reason behind this is that, as people grow older, their immune system weakens and due to this, they are unable to fight infectious disease. Besides this, most older people have conditions such as diabetes and heart diseases and this makes it riskier for them because COVID-19 easily kills in cases where one has a preexisting medical condition.
The ministry of health set guidelines like practicing good hygiene, wearing protective gear, and observing social distancing, in order to help protect the citizens from contracting the disease. The elderly are however having a difficult time abiding by these rules set. In the country today, most elderly people reside in institutionalized settings most especially the nursing homes. These places are so overcrowded that; the spread of the disease is very easy. It is difficult to maintain social distancing in such places. This has been very challenging for the caregivers as they have nothing to do in order to help. In case the disease is contracted by one person in such a place, then the whole population is likely to be affected.
Most of the elderly people also have mobility and isolation difficulties. As a result, they cannot get the information they require concerning the deadly disease, and they, therefore, suffer ignorance. They, therefore, do not take the required health protection guidelines set. Lastly, these elderly people are not on employment and suffer from poverty. As a result, they cannot be able to buy protective equipment like masks.
Your stance.
During your campaigns, you formed a program that considered the needs of the youths and the elderly in society. All the ideas in the program had their advantages but a detailed strategic plan was not created to implement these ideas. The program included:
- Funding for the youth and elderly people projects
- The improved infrastructure of nursing homes
- Money for the elderly not on employment
- Insurance coverage for the elderly
- Door to door health education to the elderly
Recommendations
The state has now been hit by a crisis and the elderly once again seem to be the most affected. It will, therefore, be very necessary to come up with a good plan on how to implement the ideas on the program. This will ensure that mistakes made by previous leaders are not repeated and that the elderly live more comfortable lives. Two ways are suggested to deal with this situation one is a step by step process and the other is a massive reform in the sector to help the elderly. A step by step strategy is recommended to deal with the situation at hand because it is the most efficient for long term effects. The elderly will benefit from the strategy in a very long time. This step is disadvantageous because it is time-consuming. The massive reform technique will be efficient because the crisis has already hit hard and the elderly are already feeling its effects.
In the massive reform process, the first step to take is to make the local textile industries make masks. From here, the masks can be distributed to the elderly in the reserve areas. This will help control the spread of the disease. The masks will be given by the health officials employed so that, as they distribute the masks, the also give education on matters concerning the disease. These two techniques will help control the situation slightly. The elderly will have an idea of what is going on and will therefore not feel left out.
In the step by step technique, a board of at least ten members should be formed within the governor’s office. This board will then oversee two projects, one the building of more nursing homes and two, the funding of the elderly people. A board will monitor the process and ensure that everything runs smoothly. All elderly people will have their names recorded by their local leaders and from here, money can be disbursed. This will help to handle the case of poverty the elderly are experiencing in accessing necessary needs during a crisis.
Next, the governor’s office should alias with a health insurance company to provide insurance coverage to the elderly. Using the names provided by the local leaders together with other details needed, the elderly can be covered. This will help to cater for the health requirements of the elderly in case they are affected during a crisis.
Finally, another minor board should be created within the governor’s office to assess youth and elderly projects in the community. From here, the board can be able to fund these projects. These projects will be beneficial to the elderly. From here, they can get money to provide for their needs most especially during a crisis and not necessarily depend on the government to provide for them.