Real-Life Communication
You are a long-term care ombudsman for the government. It is your
job to listen to complaints from people who use the health-care system, and
try and clear up their problems.
"You need to have highly developed
skills to be able to read a report and find out whether it is accurate," says
David Bazay, an ombudsman. "Is the report fair and produced with integrity?
You need to know where to find information for your investigation."
Once
you have listened and read the complaints, you need to write and express your
findings. "You must be able to express yourself clearly and be able to organize
your information."
You have just received a written report from Amy
Houle complaining about her mother's long-term care.
I
am writing to complain about the long-term health care my mother, Adelaide
Houle, has received from a government-run health care center. In August, Adelaide
was put on the waiting list to enter the home. She was told it would be a
two-month wait, and during this time she would receive $500 per month to pay
for care at another facility.
She ended up waiting until December to
get into the new facility. She was only given $1,000 to pay for care in another
facility, yet she waited for four months. The government-run facility official,
Ken Dorey, promised Adelaide that she would be paid for the four months. It
is now February, and no money has been forthcoming.
In addition, Adelaide
was promised 100 percent coverage once at the new facility, and now she is
being billed for 20 percent of the charges. Dorey says this money will also
be reimbursed. It has not been at this point. Dorey refuses to answer my mother's
calls -- or mine. I am worried about the toll this is taking on my mother's
health.
Now that you have read your report, you jot down
questions that you want to investigate.
These are your questions:
- How much money has Adelaide received to date?
- Who have Amy and Adelaide Houle been dealing with at the government-run
facility?
- Are the Houles and Ken Dorey still communicating?