House Bill 3239: Providing Care for Vulnerable Groups

Initial health checks, proper food and water access, appropriate sanitation facilities and requirements, staff training, and unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with new regulations are all included in House Bill 3239. The bill’s main goal is to help vulnerable people like the elderly, pregnant women, and children get medical treatment. Minimum requirements would be met in order to provide adequate healthcare to patients. Nurses would play a critical part in the bill’s success by providing treatment, furthering their education, and serving as patient advocates.The bill intends to establish a preliminary health screening routine for immigrants arrested by customs and border protection. This bill will prioritize vulnerable populations, give psychological assistance, and provide needed medical services and supplies. Unpreventable deaths are a major issue for immigrants detained by CBP. In addition, the bill would establish guidelines to prevent unnecessary fatalities. The bill therefore has steep implementation hurdles since the government has to allocate a lot of funds in ensuring that there is a good care for these vulnerable groups. High cost will be incurred in fully satisfying the needs of the group.

Because it originated in the House of Representatives, the legislation is at the federal level. This bill has cleared the House of Representatives, but it still needs to pass the Senate and be signed into law by the president. A bill with the same name was introduced in the Senate. A resolution was submitted in the House, and it was approved to continue to debate H.R. 3239. This means that discussions and votes on the H.R. 3239 measure can continue. There have not been any cost estimates given for this bill, however the bill, is likely to cost more due to the requirement cost of care related to the aliens care. The requirements include services, personnel and infrastructure needed in doing the screening as well as the mental health care treatment. There would be high cost in ensuring the detainee are provide with the basic necessities such as water, food sanitation facilities and hygiene products. As a result of the explained needs there is likely to be high “bang for the buck” in implementationof the bill due to the high cost in meeting the requirement. This bill aims to address healthcare inequities experienced by immigrants while in customs and border patrol custody (Hayes, 2019). Patients with co-morbidities would be identified and treated as a result of these first health tests. Vulnerable populations would be identified and prioritized, including pregnant women, children, the elderly, and persons with impairments.

To reduce the stress connected with this experience, mental health treatments would be provided to anyone who needed them. This bill would cover basic needs such as food, water, shelter, correct temperature control, sanitary facilities, and products. Nurses will be able to see if their care has an impact on a patient’s outcome under this bill. Nurses would investigate if providing patients with basic and preventative treatment has an impact on their overall health. Cultural awareness in relation to immigrant patients would be included in nursing education. Nurses would benefit from additional training in spotting mental health issues, such as suicidal patients. Regardless of personal beliefs, ethical nurses have the right to care for the vulnerable immigrant population.

The major goal of H.R. 3239 is to provide necessary health treatments to those detained by CBP. Initial evaluations would be addressed, vulnerable groups would be cared for, mental health concerns would be screened for, and sanitation and nutritional needs standards would be established. This law would broaden nursing research, nursing education to encompass new issues, and nursing practice to incorporate patient advocacy. Following the passage of this bill, nurses will be critical patient advocates. Various medical specialists are advocating for the passage of this bill. People in CBP custody do not have access to basic health care, and this law tries to establish baseline requirements.

Reference

Hayes K. (2019). Health care of undocumented immigrants. AAACN Viewpoint, 41(3), 1-1,12. Web.