In article one from episode seven of the Neighborhood the discussion of the emergency department being extremely busy as a community nursing issue since the lack of available non- emergent access to care poses a danger to the community through the possible situation of the emergency department being too busy to treat those with actual emergent situations in a timely fashion. According to Stanhope and Lancaster, (2012) the role of the community nurse “is a setting-specific practice whereby care is provided for clients and families where they live, work, and attend school.
The emphasis of community-based nursing practice is acute and chronic care, he provision of comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous services”. So by thinking of the community as the place care is administered the lack of necessary medical offices or urgent care settings forces the people of the community to use the emergency department as a primary care office for the common ailments generally dealt with by a Primary Care Physician’s office.
On most days this would probably not cause much of a problem until a serious care accident or heart attack is delayed evaluation and treatment because there is no available room or staff because of treating patients with a cold. In the second article, from the Neighborhood Episode 1 1, a statement that local health officials are concerned that a rise of flu-related deaths are expected (University of Phoenix, 2014).
In this article, the subject would be a public health issue due to this issue affecting the community as a whole and the community health (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2012). Through this attempt to prevent illness in the public the public health nurse would strive to educate, on flu prevention and signs and symptoms, and vaccinate those at risk in the community to try to prevent flu-related deaths. The differences between public health and community health issues are divided by an incredibly thin line that the two are twins.
The need for more primary care offices as evidenced by the overpopulation of patients in the emergency department indeed poses a threat to the community that must be addressed by the community as a group. It will fall on the shoulders of the elected officials to allocate funds to establish more of the needed clinics for people to use in place of the emergency department. In the second article, the role of the public health ruse will be crucial in the delivery of education on the flu and vaccinating the public in the community.
There is not clear winner of these two articles in regards to which issue is the most important, both have the potential of causing needless death in the community, and both are avoidable.
