Mediation Services
Mediation is a process that provides a setting to resolve conflict cooperatively through face-to-face dialogue with the assistance of an impartial third party. Seniors, their families, and caregivers may need support to deal with conflicts that sometimes arise in situations like the following:
- Decisions such as selling the family home and moving into a retirement community or moving in with a family member;
- Adjustments to changes from independence to interdependence;
- Tension created by the interaction of two or three generations living together;
- Disagreements between health care providers, such as nurses or home health aides, and seniors and their families concerning the care being given;
- Conflicts regarding finances;
- Disputes between tenants and landlords.
Some of the benefits that are derived from implementing mediation as a method of solving problems are:
- Learning new ways to handle conflict and resolve problems;
- Maintaining a better sense of personal dignity and independence;
- Avoiding escalation to painful and costly litigation;
- Increasing opportunities for seniors and their families to communicate more effectively and to work together to resolve their problems;
- Improving the quality of life and the relationships within their circle of support.
Elders, their families or their attorneys in Delaware County may contact the Center for Resolutions, located at 27 East Fourth Street, P. O. Box 1498, Media, Pennsylvania 19063 with a telephone number of 610-566-7710.
The Ombudsman Program of Delaware County investigates and resolves complaints received from or on behalf of older individuals who reside in nursing homes, personal care homes, domiciliary care homes, or receive long-term care services in their own homes. An ombudsman advocates for and protects the rights of an elder person receiving long-term care services and seeks to bring about needed changes to improve the quality of care received. The program is part of the care management services offered through Horizons Unlimited, located at 333 East State Street, Media, Pennsylvania 19063, with a telephone number of 610-566-6248.