Driven To Drink Case Summary

Introduction
The “Driven to Drink” case takes place at Jackson County Hospital located downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The hospital is a teaching facility for the University of Missouri at Kansas City and is a Doctor of Osteopathy Medical School. It offers numerous stand-alone residency and fellows programs for its medical students. Also, Jackson County Hospital is known for its work with police officers and Division of Family Services (DFS) workers in child abuse cases and for their published research on physicians’ roles in child abuse investigations. The protagonist, Lisa Silver, is currently employed as the hospital’s pediatric social worker and has worked in the Pediatric Clinic for seven years. She is part of a team responsible for evaluating

This is an issue for Lisa because she realizes she has a duty to warn and protect hospital patients. Allowing Carol to leave the hospital with the foster child while under the influence of alcohol puts both the foster child and Carol in danger of being involved in an accident. According to Margolis, Foss, and Tolbert (2000), “The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) dataset (1991–1996) reported that 3,310 children had died in those years in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes” (as cited in Romano and Kelley-Baker, 2015, p. 1). With Lisa working as a pediatric social worker who often is assigned to work in the Pediatric Emergency room in 1998, it is likely she is aware of the number of children who die in car crashes related to alcohol consumption. She may have also encountered children who have entered the emergency room after they have been involved in an accident. It is possible Lisa’s past experiences in the Pediatric Emergency Room have her concerned for the foster child Carol is transporting while intoxicated. The external issue shaping this case is that Lisa feels it is Randy and Dale’s responsibility to address Carol’s alcohol consumption while performing work duties. She feels Randy and Dale should address the issue, not only because Carol is their employee, but because she fears this is an incident that has the potential to reoccur if it is not handled properly. The difference in roles and responsibilities is contributing to Lisa being unsure of how to address this