Managing Everyday Ethics in Assisted Living: A Research-Based Case Analysis for the Classroom

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a complex, but realistic, picture of the lived experience in assisted living (AL), and provokes thoughtful reflection about the operational and ethical challenges faced in the delivery of care to an increasingly frail population in a typical AL facility. Developed from the findings of a two-year qualitative research project, the case represents a composite of selected data collected at five AL facilities that participated in the study. Students will participate in individual and small group exercises that challenge them to identify everyday ethical concerns in AL, and to suggest ways that management can address these issues. The case is suitable for cross-disciplinary use, and can be effectively applied in the fields of management, health care administration, sociology, gerontology, social work, and nursing, either on the graduate or undergraduate level. It is especially well suited to courses that incorporate the topics of long-term care, senior housing, or ethics.

KEYWORDS:

• Assisted living
• ethics
• management

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Keith M. Robinson, MD, the Charlotte Palmer Philips Fund, and Ursinus College, as well as the insightful comments received from John Deckop, PhD, and William J. Hickey, PhD, on an earlier version of this paper, which was presented at the 2006 Eastern Academy of Management Meetings in Saratoga Springs, NY.