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Aging Members: How To Deal With Members Who Cannot Care For Themselves
As residents of a community age, associations may be confronted with the delicate and difficult question of how to handle those residents who are no longer capable of taking care of themselves. In some instances, these residents may pose a danger to other people or property - they might forget to turn off the stove or they may no longer see well enough to drive a vehicle. Associations are not care providers and their roles in dealing with aging residents are not always clear. However, in cases where the association has knowledge that a resident poses a danger to other members of the community, other residents may expect the association to take some proactive action. Associations walk a fine line between interfering with a resident's personal health matters and taking action to protect other residents in the community. What, then, should be the association's role when faced with these kinds of issues?
The first step is to communicate with the resident. Write a gentle letter detailing how his or her behavior is impacting and endangering neighbors. From a liability perspective, this step documents that the association has made an attempt to deal directly with the problem. At this point, the resident may still be aware enough to correct the problem or to obtain appropriate assistance.
If the letter does not achieve the desired goal, the association should try to locate and contact the resident's family. Family members may not be aware of the extent of the problems and once alerted, they may take action to assist the resident. Unfortunately, however, there are times when the resident has no family, has no family willing to provide assistance, or the resident will not provide family contact information.
If there are no family members or they are unresponsive, the association may contact social service agencies that provide assistance to the elderly. These agencies can often provide services directly to the resident or help the resident take care of himself or herself.
If all of the steps listed above are unsuccessful, the association may need to file a court action to seek the appointment of a guardian or conservator for the resident. The association should involve legal counsel at this point. A guardian or conservator is a person authorized by the court to tend to the affairs of the resident upon a declaration that the resident is incompetent. Of course, the court will require documentation of incompetence before issuing any type of guardianship order. If a guardian is appointed, he or she may decide that the resident's best interests are met by moving to an environment where support services are available or the guardian may arrange for someone to assist the resident. In some cases, the family that was formerly unwilling to cooperate will take affirmative steps to intervene when a court action is filed.
Dealing with aging residents that can no longer handle their own affairs can be challenging and emotional for all involved, including not only the resident that needs assistance, but the association and the resident's family. The association should take advantage of third party resources to deal with this matter that has no easy solution.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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The University
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Upcoming Classes:
School of Association Leadership
BOD 202-Governing Documents and Statutes: What You Need to Know
Wheat Ridge Office
April 13, 6:00pm - 9:15pm
Click here to register
Manager Lunch Forums
Designing Successful and Workable Architectural Guidelines (offered at no charge)
Wheat Ridge Office
April 7, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Click here to register
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Community Associations Institute
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The Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a nonprofit organization that provides education and resources to community associations. To find out more about CAI visit www.caionline.org
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