If it comes to planning a vacation, families have a way of thoroughly looking at their options, communicating and compromising for the break from work-a-day life. For most families and individuals, it is the contrary when the planning moves to dealing with a loved one’s well-being during illness or old age. Part of the challenge today in elder care is that family conversations are easily thwarted by the “unknown”. Matters that pertain to old age and/or poor health can impact family finances, and add responsibilities to a family member with regard to care-giving, as well as eliminate the family member’s autonomy.
Myrna Fawcett, elder law expert, was one of a group of four presenter-organizers to begin to talk about the tools to prepare and facilitate these “difficult” conversations to a very enthusiastically received program at Iona Services in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, June 7, 2011.
“Elder Issues: Facilitating Difficult Family Conversations” was designed to assist families in discussing, planning for, and taking action on the difficult issues that can come with the aging process — issues that many of us are dealing with in our own families. Indeed, the audience members ranged in age from their 30’s through 80’s posing questions that began with care-giving for a parent with dementia, to the senior concerned that his children would respect his needs and life-style decisions.
Presenting along with Ms. Fawcett, were Steve Altman, Northwest Villages Board member and mediator, Jeannette Twomey, a mediator who specializes in issues of aging and in facilitating family conversations, and Deb Rubenstein, care manager and psychotherapist at Iona Senior Services, who works with family members trying to assist older relatives who are reluctant to change their living situation or accept help.