A 30-year-old grandchild lives with and provides care for the 75-year-old grandparent. The grandparent has congestive heart failure, hypothyroidism, and chronic pain from a compression fracture and osteoporosis.
The grandchild supervises the older adult's medications. The home health nurse notes that the older adult has extra diuretic pills and that the pain medications for a month have been used and cannot be refilled for 2 more weeks. The older adult tells the nurse: Those pain pills don't work, my back is always hurting. The nurse notes that the older adult's ankles are very swollen. Which of the following things should the nurse do first?
A) Call adult protective services and ask for an immediate evaluation.
B) Assess the grandchild's understanding of her grandmother's needs.
C) Take the grandmother to the emergency department immediately.
D) Tell the older adult that her grandchild is probably taking her pain medications.
Question 2
A neighbor notices an 81-year-old getting water from someone's outside faucet. The neighbor notices that this person's ankles are very swollen and there is an open wound on her left leg.
The older adult says, I stopped taking my pills because the water department turned off my water and I can't use the bathroom. My daughter did not pay the water bill, and she never has time to take me to the doctor so my legs can be checked. The neighbor calls adult protective services. Which of the following interventions is the priority when the nurse visits for an evaluation and does not find any immediate danger?
A) The competency of the older adult in making decisions needs to be determined.
B) The daughter needs to be picked up by the police on a neglect charge.
C) The older adult needs to be involuntarily committed to a long-term care facility.
D) An involuntary legal intervention needs to be initiated immediately.
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