Family Meetings and Elder Care Planning
By Jeannette Franks, PhD
Businesses often approach tough issues by scheduling a meeting of those most knowledgeable and concerned. Successful academic departments at every prestigious university hold monthly meetings. Governments can break through imponderable dilemmas via well-planned and appropriately attended meetings.
Why don't more families tackle elder care planning by holding meetings? There are various barriers, real and imagined. Geography is a big one-often families are widely dispersed across the country. Lives are already busy and often overscheduled without adding yet another commitment. Paid caregivers might not want to donate their time to ponder the issues; families may feel it is too expensive to pay them for meeting time. Also, it's easy to think, "My sister would never agree to a meeting." But have you asked her? Families can be so heavily burdened by the responsibilities of caregiving that it might be surprising what people will readily agree to if it might be an improvement on the status quo.
This article continues at Elder Care Planning and Family Meetings.