Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 19, 2016

THE GOOD LIFETHE GOOD LIFEMountain Views-News Saturday, March 19, 2016 10 THE GOOD LIFETHE GOOD LIFEMountain Views-News Saturday, March 19, 2016 10 
ELDER MEDIATION CAN HELP FAMILIES 
RESOLVE CAREGIVING CONFLICTS 


Dear Savvy Senior, 
Are there any services that you know of that help 
families resolve caregiving conflicts? My mother – 
who just turned 82 – recently had a stroke, and to 
make matters worse, my two siblings and I have 
been perpetually arguing about how to handle her 
caregiving needs and fi nances. 
Bickering Siblings 

Dear Bickering,
It’s not unusual when adult children disagree witheach other regarding the care of an elder parent. Ifyour siblings are willing, a good possible solutionis to hire an “elder care mediator” who can helpyou work through your disagreements peacefully.
Here’s what you should know. 

Elder Mediation 

While mediators have been used for years to helpdivorcing couples sort out legal and fi nancialdisagreements and avoid court battles, elder caremediation is a relatively new and specialized servicedesigned to help families resolve disputes that arerelated to aging parents or other elderly relatives.

Family disagreements over an ill or elderlyparent’s caregiving needs, living arrangements,
financial decisions and medical care are some of the 
many issues that an elder care mediator can helpwith. But don’t confuse this with family or grouptherapy. Mediation is only about decision-making,
not feelings and emotions.

 The job of an elder mediator is to step in as aneutral third party to help ease family tensions, listento everyone’s concerns, hash out disagreements andmisunderstandings, and help your family makedecisions that are acceptable to everyone.

Good mediators can also assist your familyin identifying experts such as estate-planners,
geriatric care managers, or health care or 
financial professionals who can supply importantinformation for family decision making.

Your family also needs to know that the 


KATIE Tse.....................This and That 
BULL DOG GEESE 

Have you seen the latest volunteer mascots forPasadena High School? If you haven’t noticedyet, two Canadian geese have made PHS theirwinter home-away-from-home for several 
straight years now. In the morning I often seethem on my drive to work, and they’re therein the afternoon as well. They usually hangout in the median dividing Sierra Madre Blvd.
Sometimes I only see one, and I worry that someterrible fate has befallen its mate. But then I’ll 
spot the two of them together and my fears areassuaged. I wonder if PHS knows about them? 
They must. If a passing motorist has noticedthem, then I’m sure the PHS students and facultyknow about them, too. I wondered if PHS mightadopt these geese as their new official mascot.
But then again,

geese aren’t as

smart phone

intimidating as 

was the product

bull dogs, the 

of a factory

current mascot. 

explosion than 

On the other 

the result of 

hand, however, 

years of human

neither do 

creation within 

dolphins inspire

technological

much fear, but 

sciences. I’m 

Florida has 

not a scientist 

stuck with them 

by any stretch of

as the symbol

the imagination,

of their football 

but I know that 

team for quite a

I don’t have 

long time.

enough faith to

Geese are 

be an atheist!

interesting

 (By the way,

because they’re 

I can’t take the 

one of the 

credit for that 

many birds 

witty line. Frank 

that migrate 

Turek, a much 

long distances. 

more clever 

I’m convinced 

writer than I, 

these two geese 

coined that 

are the same 

phrase, along

ones year afteryear, but many other animal species die offbetween generations in their migratory cycles.
For example, monarch butterflies travel fromCanada to Mexico and back, without any onebutterfly seeing the whole trip in its lifetime.
Then there are the plovers. These little birds 
leave their newly hatched offspring in Alaska tomake a non-stop flight to Hawaii. After their 
young have gained enough weight for adequate 

mediation process is completely confi dential andvoluntary, and can take anywhere from a few hoursto several meetings depending on the complexityof your issues. And if some family members live faraway, a conference or video call can be used to bringeveryone together.

If you’re interested in hiring a private elder caremediator, you can expect to pay anywhere from$100 to more than $500 per hour depending onwhere you live and who you choose. Or, you maybe able to get help through a nonprofi t communitymediation service which charges little to nothing. 

Finding a Mediator 

To locate an elder mediator, start by contactingyour area aging agency (call 800-677-1116 to getyour local number), which may be able to refer youto local resources, or search online at Mediate.com. 
Another good option is the National Association forCommunity Mediation website (nafcm.org), whichcan help you search for free or low-cost community-
based mediation programs in your area.

Unfortunately, there is currently no formallicensing or national credentialing required forelder mediators, so make sure the person youchoose has extensive experience with elder issuesthat are similar to what your family is dealing with.
Also, be sure you ask for references and check them.
Most elder mediators are attorneys, social workers,
counselors or other professionals who are trained inmediation and confl ict resolution. 

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 
5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. 
Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show 
and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. 

burnable body fuel, they, too, fly from Alaska tomeet up with their parents in Hawaii.

How exactly do these birds know how tonavigate an ocean they’ve never crossed to arriveat a destination they’ve never reached before?
For the Christian the answer is self evident 
--God programmed them to do it, just as Hecreated the human eye to function only whenall its individual parts work in conjunction witheach other. That’s just one example of a hostof other miracles we take for granted on a dailybasis. Now, maybe an intelligent Creator madeall the amazing things we see around us, ormaybe they came out of nothing, as the productof random chance. If you hold to the lattertheory, you must recognize that there is a greater

chance that your 


with another 
favorite of mine in talking about those whodoggedly deny the existence of God --”Thereis no God, and I hate Him!” You can purchasehis book, “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be AnAtheist,” and other insightful works by Turekand Norman Gisler on Amazon.) With all that 
said, I hope you have a great week and that youget to see the geese before they return to Canadafor the summer. 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS 



HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …March Birthdays 

Clare Marquardt, Karen Blachly, Carla Duplex, Ella Guttman, Viky Tchatlian, Mary

Cooper, Georgina “Snooky” Greger, Sun Liu, Helen Wallis, Joan Crow, Nancy Fox, 

Martha Cassara, Rita Johnson, Mercedes Campos, Dorothy Webster,Terri Elder, 

Carol Cerrina, Amy Putnam, Sally Contreras and Lori Cooper. * To add your 
name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required 
but you must be over 60. 

................................................................... 



ACTIVITIES: Unless listed differently, all activities are at the 
Hart Park House (Senior Center) 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre 

YWCA San Gabriel Valley - Intervale Senior Cafe 

Seniors 60 years of age and up can participate in the YWCA Intervale daily lunch program held 
at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Meals are served Monday through Friday at 12:00 pmand participants are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 am. Meals are a suggested donation of $3.00 
for seniors 60 and over or $5.00 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary, space is 
limited. Please reserve your lunch by calling 626-355-0256. 

Tech Talk: Held on Monday, January 25th from 1:30-2:30pm. Learn how to use your newtechnology devises. Please reserve your space with the Hart Park House by calling 626-355-7394. 

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10am to 11am. Join 
instructor Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula. 

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome tojoin. May be canceled if less than 5 people. 

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11am to 12pm. No appt. is 
necessary. 

Brain Games: Thursday, January 21st, 10:30am - 11:30am, improve your memory and strengthenyour brain. Activities facilitated by Hugo, Community Liaison for New Wave Home care ofPasadena. 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, January 27th from 10:30am to Noon. Attorney Lem 
Makupson is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, 
and Injury. Appointment are required by calling 626-355-7394. 

Balance Class: No Balance Class due to Martin Luther King Holiday. 

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am. A suggested donation of $5 at one 
of the classes is requested, but is not required. 

Case Management: Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month. Case Management services are 
provided by the YWCA and provide assistance in a variety of areas. Appointments are required 
and can be scheduled by calling the HPH Offi ce at 626-355-7394. 

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month at the Hart Park House. Th e free 
birthday cake is provided by the Sierra Madre Civic Club. 

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:00pm. (Please note the time change.) A regular group ofseniors play poker. Other games available for use. 

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45pm to 1:30pm with Lisa Brandley. Th e 
class utilizes light weights for low impact resistance training. All materials for the class are 
provided. 

Senior Club: Every Saturday at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Brown bag lunch at 11:30am. 
Club meeting at noon. Bingo 12:30-3:30pm. Annual Membership is only $10.00. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com