An Elder Mediator Gives Families a Way to Solve Care Disagreements

Not all families come to the same conclusion when trying to determine which type of elder care is best for an older family member. Unfortunately, these types of disagreements can be nasty at times. They typically do not occur because someone is trying to take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain (although this can happen), but rather because there are competing views on what is the best course when it comes to administering care.

 

Disagreements like this can occur because not all types of care fit neatly into a specific category. For example, if both in-home care and assisted living can completely account for your mom or dad’s needs and both have similar costs involved, competing opinions can grow heated. Is it best to keep your parent in the house and have a caregiver attend to their needs? Or should they move out into an assisted living facility so that they can have around the clock supervision and be around their peers? If your parent is not involved in the decision making, it is up to the family to determine what’s best, and it can easily lead to an argument and bad feelings toward one another.

 

When something like this occurs, there are a few different ways that you can go. One way that families have chosen to resolve potentially tense situations is through the use of an elder mediator. This brings a third party into the decision making process, here’s all sides of an issue, and then helps the family to come to a conclusion that everyone is willing to work together on. The mediator should not be taking sides, and they should not be the one making decisions. Instead, they guide the conversation fairly and completely so that family members can make a decision that they are happy with.

 

If you and your family are having a disagreement over the care of a loved one, an elder mediator might help.

 

The mediator can be an attorney, but doesn’t always need to be. This is a more peaceful and less expensive way than combatting this issue in a courtroom. Rather than allowing decisions regarding senior care or other aspects of your mom or dad’s aging get in the way of your family, a mediator helps to steer the decision making process so that family members are not hurt by this situation. The hope is that by having a mediator acting as a referee of sorts, the best care can be given to your parent without sacrificing the well being of other members of the family.

 

Finding the right care for your mom or dad is important. They deserve high quality and compassionate care, and they deserve to have the care that will best suit their needs. However, when arguments occur, it can damage family relationships, and this is something that should be avoided. A balance is needed, and this is where a mediator can be useful.

 

If you and your family are at a crossroads of which decision is best for a loved one, and you fear that someone is going to be angry about a potential decision, using an elder mediator might be in your best interests.

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