Healthcare assignment
pryced35
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Running head: BRIEFING STATEMNET |
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BRIEFING STSTEMENT |
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Flu Epidemic “Teen's death shows horror of flu epidemic”
Dameon Pryce
University of Maryland University College
A larger look into the scope and impact the flu epidemic is causing.
The flu season begins early fall and lasts throughout May with the peak being between December and February. At the end of the year in December 7% of all deaths were blamed on pneumonia and the flu combined. This is outrageously high considering there is a flu vaccination. The numbers due to the flu will be much higher toward the end of the season. This year’s flu season has already surpassed the number of deaths in the previous years. “It's blamed for more deaths than it was at this time last year -- including 15 children. That's as of December 20. Already, more flu-related deaths are suspected, including a 4-year-old boy.” (Levs 2017). Some facts about the flu as stated by the Center for Disease Control “the flu has reached an epidemic level in the United States” (Levs 2017). “The number of children killed by the flu spiked tremendously in 2013. Thirty-seven deaths were blamed on the flu in the 2011 to 2012 season; the next season, 2012-2013, there were 171 deaths, the CDC says. In the 2013 to 2014 season, the figure was 109.” (Levs 2017). This is all the data that is known since the deaths for adults do not have to be reported. This alone shows the rate and impact the flu is having on the United States this year alone.
Annual vaccinations
This year’s flu epidemic is affecting people all over the United States. Half of the country is experiencing higher than usual flu activity. This could mean a number of different things. A lack of vaccinated people, a new strand of the flu, previous underlying sickness due to poor medical history. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an annual physical exam throughout childhood after the age of 4. But a study found that one third of Minnesota teens ages 13 to 17 had no preventive care visits, and another 40% had only one such visit during those years.” (Levs 2017). Many diseases and illnesses can weaken the immune system and potentially cause death if not treated properly or if combined with the flu. Annual flu vaccinations are highly recommended and are given throughout the flu season. They are readily available at places such as Walgreens, CVS, doctor’s office, hospitals, and even local community health groups. Here’s a looked into the cost of the flu vaccination. For the most part Insurance will cover flu vaccinations, or many employers offer free flu vaccinations. But for those who don’t have access to these opportunities the average price seems to be between $25-$50. This is not bad considering all the hospital bills you will accumulate if you catch the flu.
“Shannon had not had the vaccine. Her father was vaccinated, but her mother was not. The Zwanzigers gave their daughter a choice, and she chose to forgo the vaccine. It's unknown whether the vaccine would have saved her.” (Levs 2017). Overall Shannon could have had a better chance of surviving if she had gotten her annual vaccination. The annual vaccinations are meant to protect you from the most current designed strands of the flu. Shannon was just one of many cases that had been reported as a death due to the flu. “The CDC said it does not yet have information on how many of those killed by the flu this year were vaccinated.” (Levs 2017). So, the best way to protect ourselves and our family is the annual flu vaccinations. Doing this will tremendously reduce the chances of getting the flu and make the symptoms much milder. A statement and a fact in reference to the flu made by Gwen Zwanziger States "We need to take it more seriously. And you need to be really proactive." (Levs 2017).
The different types of flu and how fast it can spread
There are different types of the flu and they can definitely spread fast. There are four types of influenza viruses: A, B, C and D. “Shannon's liver gave out and an autopsy confirmed that she had a type A flu.” (Levs 2017). “Human influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics of disease almost every winter in the United States. Type C infections generally cause a mild respiratory illness. Influenza D viruses primarily affect cattle” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2017). Typically, the older population are more prone to diseases and viruses. These things typically spread fast amongst the elderly population and the flu is no exception. People ages 65 or older has the highest rate of any age group no hospitalized for flu related issues. The flu virus is said to be about 61% effective as stated by Dr. Seema Yasmin, a CNN medical analyst. "Most flu vaccines protect against three or four different strains of flu” (Levs 2017). This is still a huge number in accounts for 61% of the flu virus that is out there. The flu can spread extremely fast and it is better to be safeguarded against the 3 to 4 strands of the flu that are going around right now rather than none.
Situational need to know from finance perspective
The first thing that must be done is ensure the financial management system is in place and working to its full capacity is to adequately meet current emergency demands. Contracts, grants, cash budgets, along with any money received from donators will be carefully managed to ensure its effectiveness. To be able to get the financial management system running effectively the internal controls must first be in place and in good running order. If the response team is to be successful and operational there will need to be an adequate amount of funds available to them. So, managing the cash flow and the cash equivalences is essential.
Policies and Procedures
Finance procedures are very important on any emergency response team. The Finance Officer will make sure they follow all policies and procedures to meet emergency demands. This will be done by conducting annual disaster workshops for all city department to review city policies. There will also be cross training to ensure everyone is up to date and familiar with current financial policies and procedures. With this everyone will have a better understanding of their role and responsibilities and of each other’s. By doing this it will stop a lot of errors and help control the misuse of information if everyone has some general knowledge on the topic. Making sure everyone is working together on all projects. This will prevent any one person having complete control over a transaction or financial project. Obeying these rules will help the finical system within run smoother.
Maintain financial and administrative response requirements
The Finance officer will properly assist the financial status for the emergency situation. They will look at things like cash burn rate the media cash needs in our phones easily assessable. They will also take into consideration the employees and their benefits. Will they have to pay employees for working overtime and is alternate means of payroll delivery necessary. In the time of an emergency the finance officer will organize the system to communicate with employees, key owners, stakeholders, Insurance companies, suppliers, and strategic partners. These are all people who need to be informed of an financial emergency occurs.
Finance Officer and Managing financial issues caused by epidemic
The Finance Officer and department play an essential role in any emergency situation. Accountable financial management in an emergency enables effective and timely cash to all departments. This also ensures there is some type of budget management to allow smooth operations in an emergency situation. The financial managing being done also ensures that all departments are abiding by proper procedures for financial management. By maintaining an effective budget for each department, it is creating accountability and also making sure everyone is reporting all expenses in a timely manner.
Have overall management of the finance unit including staffing, budget preparation and expenditure reporting, cash management, accounting, and financial aspects of grant management and internal controls. Meeting with the managers of each department to find out their individual needs financially is essential to being able to properly allocate funds. They would have to provide the who the funds are for, what they need them for, where the money will directly affect the team and the emergency situation. When they would need the funds and lastly why they would need that particular amount. These are all very important for the Finance Officer to know to be able to look at the budget and determine where the funds will go and why. Once money is properly allocated the departments will be monitored to ensure they money is being used in the way they said it would be. Furthermore, that it is being beneficial to the current emergency.
GSK and Human Resources
GSK is a key stakeholder it comes to the flu vaccination. This is one the major companies that produce the flu vaccination each year. And without the stakeholder millions of people we’ll be in danger of getting the flu and spreading it. It is important that GSK have the funds to produce a new flu vaccination each year based on the strands the come out that year. It is also important that the finance officer is communicating with the proper channels in order to receive flu vaccinations at their particular location. The finance officer would then work with the Human Resources department who would also be a stakeholder and determining the amount of vaccinations they should have available. The human resources stakeholder should be able to provide data based on previous years. They will need to go over this together so that the hospitals not buying too many flow vaccinations and therefore wasting money.
References
Levs Josh. (2017). Teen's death shows horror of flu epidemic. 5 Things Newsletter. CNN Health. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/31/health/flu-epidemic/index.html
Types of Influenza Viruses. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/viruses/types.htm.
