Marcie D. Cooper, MSW, LCSW, C-ASWCM

18 Aberdeen Place,   Fair Lawn, NJ 07410

201-703-1699    marcie@GratefulCare.com   www.gratefulcare.com

ELDER MEDIATION: An Ethical Model

THE ELDER MEDIATION CENTER OF NEW JERSEY

Mediation is a process in which an impartial third-party, called a mediator, facilitates communication between parties in conflict.  The mediator’s goal is to assist and encourage disputing parties to reach a voluntary and mutually acceptable agreement. Mediation offers an alternative to court-involvement and at its best preserves relationships among participants that may have divergent goals.

The relatively new field of Elder Mediation provides dispute resolution services designed to resolve conflicts involving older adults, their families and others.  The Elder Mediator works with the parties, helping them to identify their goals and priorities, to generate and explore options and to exchange information in hopes of arriving at a solution.

The kinds of conflicts that might be appropriate for elder mediation include matters with a legal basis (decision-making capability, guardianship, real estate issues, estate planning, long-term planning); family disagreements (living arrangements, driving, second marriages or partnerships, neglect); community disputes (landlord/ tenant, maintenance of property, pets, wandering); bioethical matters ( medical treatment, end of life issues, advance directive interpretation).

Who is the Mediator?

The mediators at The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey (EMC-NJ) are committed to provide an environment where all parties are heard, including the voice of the older adult who may not be at the table but who is eminently affected by the outcome of the mediation.  The mediators who are the founders of EMC-NJ are attorneys with extensive experience and knowledge regarding issues facing older adults and individuals living with disabilities.  They are dedicated to upholding the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, avoidance of harm, fidelity and justice.

The Role of the Geriatric Care Manager

The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey has developed a unique model that views the Professional Geriatric Care Manager (PGCM) as an integral part of the elder mediation process.  Using an Ethical Model for elder mediation, EMC-NJ considers the professional geriatric care manager to be essential when working with parties who are in dispute and are seeking a solution involving frail or vulnerable older adults. 

The EMC-NJ approach differs significantly from other mediations models in that the PGCM is not the mediator.  The PGCM supports the mediation by providing a care management assessment and formulating a plan of care that is used in the mediation process.  The PGCM brings objective and professional guidance to a situation that is often fraught with emotion and disagreement.  In recognizing the importance of the PGCM and the plan of care, the mediator uses the skills and recommendations of the PGCM to assist the participants in generating real options.

Ethical Principles

As a fundamental ethical ideal, autonomy represents the individual’s ultimate right to make choices in life.   The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey addresses this basic right through their guiding principle of self-determination.  In the Ethical Model of elder medication, the PGCM develops a plan and goals based on this ideal of self-determination. 

The geriatric care manager provides an evaluation to assess the extent to which the older adult has the capacity to participate in the mediation process.  If it is determined that the older adult has limited capacity to participate, the care manager’s role is to provide the mediator and the parties with the voice of the older adult and to act as an advocate to uphold the principle of autonomy.

Should it be determined that the older adult lacks the capacity to fully participate in safe and appropriate decision-making, the care manager enters the mediation process to ensure that no harm is brought to the older adult.   In this Ethical Model of elder mediation, the mediator is considered ‘neutral’ and the PGCM is an advocate for the best interests of the older adult.

In traditional mediation, such as divorce mediation, the parties may agree on a resolution without full knowledge of the facts and without an understanding of the risks associated with decisions that are made during the mediation.  In elder mediation this could have dire consequences.  The medical, emotional, safety, financial, residential, social and spiritual needs of the person most vulnerable must be considered.  The professional geriatric care manager brings these issues to the table.

The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey addresses the issue of fidelity to the vulnerable adult as a duty, even if it conflicts with the interests of others.  The care manager in the ethical model of elder mediation realizes this ideal in its purist form.  This Ethical Model strives for the cooperation of all individuals involved in providing justice to the care needs of the vulnerable.  This basic tenet is shared by the innovators of the Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey. 

Marcie Cooper is the owner of Marcie Cooper Care Manager, LLC and co-founder of The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey.  She can be reached at marcie@GratefulCare.com.  For more information about The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey, visit www.eldermediationcenter.com.