The case study discusses Ronald, a 71-year-old widower recovering from a fall and facing confusion due to arteriosclerosis, leading his children to seek nursing home care for him against his wishes. Despite Ronald's desire for independence, healthcare professionals decide he cannot be discharged until a nursing home is found, even sedating him to ensure compliance. The document raises ethical questions about autonomy, self-determination, and the balance between safety and personal choice in care decisions for elderly patients.

1. Case Study
Liberty and the Elderly Patient Ronald is 71 years old. A widower, he lives alone in an
apartment, but he regularly receives some assistance from a cleaning woman and a friendly
neighbor. Ronald is presently in Metropolitan hospital, because he had a fall and suffered a
broken leg. Now that he has begun to heal, he is ready to be discharged. Ronald also suffers from
arteriosclerosis, a condition that results in his experiencing periods of confusion during which he
sometimes wanders purposelessly around his apartment building and sometimes wandering
around the city. This type of behavior has run some risks for Ronald in the past, and his children
do not want him to return to his apartment. The children believe that he needs the supervised care
provided in a nursing home. Ronald, when not in a confused state, repeatedly expresses his
awareness of the problems he faces stemming from his arteriosclerosis and the resultant risks that
he runs. Nonetheless, he would rather run those risks than be confined to institutional care. The
health care professionals and Ronalds children decide that he cannot be discharged from
Metropolitan hospital until an appropriate nursing home is found. At that time, he will be sent to
the nursing home. When Ronald insists to being discharged from the hospital, the nurses sedate
him to a level sufficient to gain his compliance.
1. If Ronalds adult children decided that he is capable of returning to his apartment with his
neighbor and his cleaning lady assisting him, would the medical professionals and the social
workers at the hospital be able to detain him against Ronalds will and his childrens will? In your
opinion, would this situation similar to a battered child/ spouse scenario where the abused person
is returned to the abuser? _______
2. If Ronald is deemed to be mentally incompetent because of his medical condition, his oldest
daughter will become his legal guardian. In your own words, explain how the removal of
Ronalds self-determination and autonomy in the hospital and the nursing home have made him
more vulnerable and dependent on his children and medical care givers. (will he be better off
/worse off if someone else is making decisions for him _______
3. In your opinion, what is the best possible outcome for Ronald? Please choose 1 (A -Ronald is
allowed to go home to his apartment B- He moves into his daughters house, C - he is sent to the
County Nursing home) Explain why your solution will put Ronald at the lowest risk and Please
indicate if you agree or disagree with what has happened to Ronald so far in our case