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Training for Eldercare Professionals and
We have developed a collection of training programs that may be helpful to your organization. These offerings are designed to help professionals (management to marketing) and caregivers, too!
Classes can be provided one-hour at a time or combined for a longer program. And, can be repeated, as appropriate, to "catch" all of your staff!
Anatomy of Conflict
How to Have a Tough Conversation
Conflict Resolution Skills - Reframing and Active
Listening
Discussions
When Capacity and Conflict Intersect
Conflict Management Styles
How Conflict Resolution Can Help Families Resolve Issues
We would be delighted to create a curriculum to meet the needs of your staff!
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Easing the Tough Conversations
MARCH, 2010 |
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Hi! We are excited to see conversation about elder mediation appearing more frequently in the press. The concept of applying mediation in the eldercare arena in a "facilitative" manner is still rather new. Please feel free to give us a call if we can answer any questions or provide service to you.
--Debbie & John
Wall Street Journal March 14, 2010
Mediators Focus on Elder Issues
by Anne Tergeson
For years, divorcing couples have hired mediators to avoid court battles. Now, some mediators are starting to specialize in resolving disputes that relate to older adults, such as those over inheritances and caregiving.
"Elder mediation has started to take off over the past couple years," says Dana Curtis, an attorney who mediates disputes and trains elder mediators at Elder Mediation Group in Sausalito, Calif.
Families who hire an elder mediator often do so to save money. To work with a mediator in private practice, a family can expect to spend from $100 to $500 an hour. A national network of nonprofit "community mediation" services charge little to nothing.
In contrast, if a family opts to pursue a lawsuit, each party must retain an attorney.
read more |
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Why Facilitative Mediation Works
We often see "squabbling" families resistant to trying mediation. Perhaps this makes sense when considering that we ask family members in conflict to take the time, energy and emotional strength necessary to sit down to talk together. We understand the reluctance, since typically any previous attempts to talk have led to arguing, turmoil, bad feelings and mistrust. Often, family conflicts have been brewing for years. It seems at times that family members might prefer to have a root canal than to sit down together! Given what we know about these dynamics, why would we ask family members to consider engaging in an activity that has led to so much pain and difficulty in the past?
The short answer is that mediation or facilitation impacts family meetings in positive ways. The presence of an impartial party creates a family experience that differs greatly from the norm. Mediators help family members avoid the usual pitfalls they anticipate and expect. So what is it about the mediation process that can transform a family meeting from a nightmare into a productive experience? How do mediators create an atmosphere where family members feel listened to and acknowledged?
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It's all in the process and how we work with each family.
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The process is facilitated by a trained neutral who interviews all parties and develops a plan prior to the first meeting.
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The mediator establishes agreed upon ground rules and guidelines for discussion that help the parties communicate in a more effective and often a brand new way.
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Everyone has an opportunity to "tell their story" in an environment that allows each other to hear their concerns.
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Each person can talk in a safe, uninterrupted manner.
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The mediator points out common interests or needs and guides the conversation to uncover common goals, building bridges between family members and developing trust.
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The mediator helps family members find solutions that meet all the parties' needs.
Perhaps it is time to consider if mediation or a facilitated family meeting might be helpful for your situation or for a family you know. |
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Save the Date!
"Before the Mourning:
Sacred Conversations about
End-of-Life Concerns"
Beth Nehamah Hospice, Feldman Mortuary, and Jewish Family Service present a free community event - a six-session lunch time series from noon - 1:30 pm on Tuesdays, April 13-May 25 (except May 11). Kosher dietary laws will be followed. The series is hosted by Shalom Park and tours are available before and after each event. Free transportation will also be provided by Shalom Park B'yahad program; please inquire when you RSVP.
April 13th topic: "Avoid Eldercare Squabbles: How to Ease the Tough Conversations," presented by Debbie Reinberg, MAcc, eldercare specialist/mediator, co-founder of ELDEResolutions
Location: Shalom Park - 14800 East Belleview Drive Aurora CO 80015 | map
More information about the Series | |
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A Pioneer with a Heart
Celebrates 30 Years of Caring
 As someone who grew up on a farm, Paul Sauer noticed early on that older adults often were bored and lonely. Much later, he founded Homewatch CareGivers one of the country's oldest and largest full service in-home care companies. Even now, although semi- retired, he still gets tremendous pleasure adding pins to his map of Homewatch franchises and places he'd like to have a presence. It's a big presence, with 160 franchises in 33 states and six countries.
Always a goal-setter, Sauer started his career as a chemist and then set his sights on building a pet-sitting business in 1973. He can tell stories of caring for exotic pets including monkeys and a coatimundi that jumped onto his shoulder with very strong (ouch!) claws. Sauer expanded from pets to people and launched Homewatch CareGivers in 1980.
Homewatch CareGivers provided over 3 million hours of care in 2009 and some of the largest offices include Portland, Phoenix, Seattle and Chapel Hill. Sauer attributes their success to the qualities of the franchise owner. Those with "the desire and ambition to pursue the franchise, the necessary funds to invest, an ability to delegate, a commitment to quality and a healthy admiration for older adults do well with Homewatch. " All Homewatch caregivers receive on-going training and all workers are employees; these factors also help to boost worker longevity.
read more
Visit www.homewatchcaregivers.com for more information. |
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THE POWER OF ATTORNEY:
A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
By Martha L. Ridgway, Esq.
This article provides an overview of powers of attorney, identifies the risks and provides a list of actions to protect against power of attorney abuse.
1. Overview of Powers of Attorney
While powers of attorney are extremely important, valuable and necessary legal documents when planning for the future, they also can present dangerous pitfalls. It is therefore necessary to both understand powers of attorney and to be aware of and to plan for the potential downsides.
A power of attorney (often referred to as a POA) is a document in which a person, called the principal, appoints another person or an entity (such as a trust company) to act on the principal's behalf. The person who is given the POA is called the agent. The principal also can name two or more co-agents to serve jointly and successor agents to serve if the originally named agent cannot.
Powers of attorney are generally divided into two categories: (1) medical, also known as a health care POA, and (2) financial, often referred to as a general durable POA. While the powers set forth in most POAs are broad and sweeping, they also can be limited by scope and time. For example, a principal who is unavailable for the closing on real estate can appoint an agent for the sole purpose of handling the transaction.
The term durable means that the POA continues in full force in effect even if the principal later becomes incapacitated. Because most principals have a power of attorney so that someone can act if the principal cannot, virtually all POAs are durable.
Visit www.martharidgwaylaw.com for more information |
Are you Connected via Social Media? We are! Join us!
We started a LinkedIn group - called "ELDEResolutions" and would love to have you join us! We've had some good discussions and we also include a few RSS Feeds, so the latest news about elder care issues is always available! Look for us on LinkedIn (join first if you haven't - it's easy and fun!), search for our group name - ELDEResolutions - and join us!
We also started a Facebook page which has the "Wall" feature for people to share information. We have several discussions started on our page - the page is called "ELDEResolutions"!
Thanks! We look forward to seeing you in the cyber skies!
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Please feel to contact us if you believe we may be of service to facilitate any elder-related conflict you are aware of and/or to train your staff in conflict management skills. And, remember that families may be reluctant to sit down with family members to resolve conflict but it is always better to work towards resolve early in the process. Thank you for your assistance to help families dealing with conflict!
Very truly yours, 303/268-2280
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