Public Policy Strategies for Nursing (Coursework Sample)

Legislative Practicum Paper

NUR 654: PUBLIC POLICY STRATEGIES FOR NURSING
Name
Institution


April-2015
Outline
Section one: Practicum and Policy background
Section Two: legislative Initiative plan
Section three: Nursing Role implicationsSection One: Practicum and Policy Background
During our Public Policy class, we were advised to identify a public policy initiative important to an elected official in our area. The public policy should address either one of the social determinants of health, a vulnerable/marginalized population, or a health policy. This paper will describe a health policy issue of concern in Dade County, Miami. In an attempt to look for a topic of interest, several commissioners’ offices in Dade County were called. After several attempts, it became apparent that the most successful way to obtain an interview was to send an e-mail expressing our interest in participating in a project related to a health issue in the community. Daniela Levine Cava’s office (District number 8) responded promptly. They advised us to send the specific questions and issues that would be addressed in the meeting in advance. The meeting took place on 4/2/2015 at 10:00 am via a telephone conference that had been organized in collaboration with the commissioner’s office. That morning, I had the opportunity to meet Commissioner Daniela Levine Cava.
Being a resident of Florida, I understand the problems and needs of the immigrant community in Florida. This commissioner was selected based on her exemplary performance and the number of years she has worked in this community. Her biography indicates that she has been working in this community for more than 30 years. Daniela L. Cava was born in New York City and raised in various parts of North and South America. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a post-graduate degree in law and social work. The commissioner also works with children with special legal needs Miami. She has also worked in the Ad Liten Program. The commissioner has shown impressive ability to solve community problems. For example, after Hurricane Andrew, she worked with abused children in Miami. This is a good indication that the commissioner is willing to work with vulnerable communities.
This project required us to volunteer in the community. The commissioner suggested that we recruit individuals from the community. The recruitment was to be carried out either in person or through e-mails. The recruits would participate in a discussion seeking the support and approval of a Health Advocacy Committee. I began by reviewing the health policy. Thereafter, close friends, relatives, neighbors, and coworkers were invited to participate.
After initiating the recruitment process, the complexity of the exercise came to the fore. It was particularly difficult to get people to participate in the activity. It was clear that recruitment requires time, passion, and the ability to convince people to participate in the discussion. This difficulty is not commensurate with the problems the community experiences. The community has many concerns, one of which is healthcare. The community would like healthcare to be more accessible. Another community concern is financial accountability in the sector (Farag, NandaKumar, Wallack, Hodgkin, Gaumer, Erbil, 2012). It is important for the community to be aware of all the expenses that the elected officials incur on their behalf. Increased public participation is also important to donors. Existing and potential donors need to know that their money is being spent on the intended purpose. Public participation enables the donors to track the expenditure. In the absence of public participation, public officials may use resources on issues that the community does not consider urgent. Proper use of healthcare resources aids in achieving universal coverage of healthcare (Kim, Lane, 2013).
During the actual meeting, several topics of interest were discussed. The commissioner pointed out the fact that in the past some decisions relating to public healthcare have been made without the input and supervision of the community. Consequently, the community is not aware whether the resources were used for the intended purpose. It is difficult to ascertain whether the resources were allocated without external influence by business and political interests. Owing to this disparity in community participation, the idea of creating a Health Advocacy Committee integrated by community members to investigate and report directly to the county commissioner was raised. The core function of the committee will be the identification of health related issues and vulnerable populations in the county. Information obtained by the committee will be used to advocate for the creation of satellite healthcare centers to bring services closer to the population. I got motivated to support the project when the commissioner mentioned that the committee would receive the support of Jackson Memorial and The Department of Health.
As a member of the community, I have witnessed the impact that Jackson Memorial Hospital has on vulnerable populations, immigrants, and people of different social classes. This is due to the exemplary performance and hard work of its medical and nursing staff. In addition, the community regards the organization highly. In order to obtain community support for the project, it is important to involve reputable organizations. This is also important because policymaking requires political backing as well. Local politicians must be involved so that the policy can get enough votes during voting.
As a public servant, the commissioner is concerned that funding for public projects is limited. In addition, she observes that the citizens are not being involved in the decision making process to guarantee proper use of the money meant for healthcare. The idea of creating the Health Advocacy Committee was further reinforced by experiences.
When Jackson Health System received approval from the county to utilize public funds to buy a piece of land in Doral area, it was not clear how the location was arrived at. The land was to be used to build a satellite Children’s, Emergency, and Ambulatory Health Center. The commissioner was concerned by the lack of community involvement in this decision. Moreover, the location was chosen based on reasons other than the best interest of the public. Political and personal interests may have been allowed to precede the public good.
Some of the values held by the commissioner related to this subject are compassion, leadership, and discipline. She is determined to serve this community, and is optimistic that with enough funding creation of the committee will be possible.
Mismanagement of public funds affects the entire population. The population is affected either directly or indirectly. This is because public projects are funded using taxes. The public has the power to decide who occupies a high profile public office. The public can exercise this power in an election. This enables the public to at least control how public resources are utilized. Elected leaders need to be held accountable by the public.
Some of the ethical and socio-economic problems that this policy issue will address include use of public funds to advance political interests, allocation of public funds to private entities, and duplication of projects (Rajkyman, & Swaroop, 2007). It is important to minimize wastage in the public sector in order to meet the health needs of the population. This is because resources have competing needs. In addition, this will deal with the problem of underutilization of public health facilities.
In an attempt to solve the problem, the commissioner has previously expressed her concerns both in public and office gatherings. Her main task is to publicize and obtain support for the creation of an office that will look at the public health concerns and evaluate if the public funds allocated are being used wisely.
A meeting will be held to deliberate on provision of assessment data. This will be reported directly to the county commissioner. The community will be well represented in the proposed meeting.
There are many barriers to the proposed policy. First, it will need staff members, and money to run the office. Second, it needs considerable effort to obtain support for the bill. Third, lack of involvement by the Health council is a major concern. Finally, it may strain Jackson Memorial and the Department of Health since they are already offering many services to the public in this region.
The proposal is currently at the resolution or determination stage. This means the commissioner, is in the process of discussing with different donors and organizations like the Department of Health and the office of the County Attorney. The commissioner’s aim is to obtain funding and approval for the policy by summer. The policy needs to obtain majority votes in the commissioner’s committee. It is important to involve financers because without their support the project will not be successful. It is also important to involve other organizations serving the public in the county such as Jackson Memorial and the Department of Health.
Section Two: Legislative Initiative Plan
ACTIONS: TIME SENSITIVEPERSON RESPONSIBLEDATEIdentify what worked and did not work during the last session:
Limited funding
Lack of members representing the community
Lack of Health Council involvement
Daniela, Legislative directorOngoingDevelop and finalize policy fact sheet to support the need of the Health Advocacy Committee
Present this idea at the next Commissioner’s committee Daniela, Legislative director3 weeks prior to start of session
4/23/2015
Develop legislative packageDaniela, Legislative director and staffongoingIdentify s...