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Glossary of Senior Terms
Click on any glossary term to find their definition.
Senior Glossary Definitions
Accreditation:
A seal of approval given by a governing body to a housing and/or service
provider. To become accredited, the community or provider must meet specific
requirements set by the accreditation entity and is then generally required
to undergo a thorough review process by a team of evaluators to ensure
certain standards of quality. The accrediting organizations are not
government agencies or regulatory bodies. Examples of some accreditations
bodies for the senior housing and care industry include CCAC (Continuing
Care Accreditation Commission), CARF (Commission on Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities) and JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Organizations).
Activities of Daily Living
(ADLs): Everyday functions and activities individuals usually do
without help. ADL functions include bathing, continence, dressing, eating,
toileting, and transferring. Many policies use the inability to do a certain
number of ADL's (such as 2 of 6) to decide when to pay benefits.
ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act): Law passed by Congress in 1980, establishing a
clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of
disability.
Advance Medical Directives:
Written instructions that explain your stated wishes in a living will or
durable power of attorney for healthcare. It pertains to health care should
you have a terminal condition or one in which a decision needs to be made on
your behalf, if you are unable.
Adult Day Care/Adult Day
Health Care: Care during the day for adults, usually at senior or
community centers. Daily structured programs in a community setting with
activities and health related and rehabilitative services to the elderly who
are physically or emotionally disabled and need a protective environment.
This care is provided for during the day. The individual returns home for
the evening.
Alzheimer's Disease: A progressive,
degenerative age related disease that impairs an individual's cognitive
ability. It is a form of dementia that causes severe intellectual
deterioration. Symptoms may include forgetfulness, wandering, and inability
to recognize others. The disease is caused by neuron dysfunction and death
in specific brain regions responsible for cognitive function. Both genetic
and environmental factors likely play a role in the development of
Alzheimer's.
Ambulatory:
Describes ability to ambulate, walk around, not bedridden or hospitalized.
Assisted Living Facility: A
residential living arrangement that provides individualized personal care
and health services for people who require assistance with Activities of
Daily Living.
Care
Management Services: A service in which a professional, typically
a nurse or social worker, may arrange, monitor, or coordinate long term care
services.
Charge Nurse:
An RN or LPN who is responsible for the supervision of a unit within a
nursing facility. The charge nurse schedules and supervises nursing staff
and provides care to facility residents.
Chronic Illness:
An illness with one or more of the following characteristics: Permanency,
residual disability, requires rehabilitation training, or requires a long
period of supervision, observation or care.
Cognitive
Impairment: A deficiency in a person's short or long term memory;
orientation as to person, place and time; deductive or abstract reasoning;
or judgment as it relates to safety awareness.
Community
Based Services: Services designed to help older people stay
independent and in their own homes.
Congregate
Housing: See Independent Living (may also be referred to as
Supportive Housing).
Conservatorship
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC): Housing planned and
operated to provide a continuum of accommodations and services for seniors
including, but not limited to, independent living, congregate housing,
assisted living, and skilled nursing care. A CCRC resident contract often
involved either an entry fee or buy in fee in addition to monthly service
charges, which may change according to the medical services required. Entry
fees may be partially or fully refundable. The fee is used primarily as a
method of privately financing the development of the project and for payment
for future health care. CCRC's are typically licensed by the state. Also see
Life Care Community.
Continuum of Care: Full spectrum of
care available at Continuing Care Retirement Communities which may include
Independent Living, Assisted Living, Nursing Care, Home Health, Home Care,
and Home and Community based services.
Custodial Care (Personal Care):
Care to help individuals meet personal needs such as bathing, dressing, and
eating. Care may be provided by someone without professional training.
Dementia: Deterioration of intellectual
faculties due to a disorder of the brain. It is a progressive neurological,
cognitive, or medical disorder that affects memory, judgment, and cognitive
powers. Alzheimer's is a form of dementia.
Developmental Disability (DD):
Affliction characterized by chronic physical and mental disabilities, which
may include: cerebral palsy, retardation, thyroid problems, seizures, and
quadriplegia.
Home Health Care:
Provision of medical and nursing services in the individual's home by a
licensed provider. Services for occupational, physical, respiratory, speech
therapy, or nursing care. Also included are medical, social worker, home
health aide, and homemaker services.
Hospice Care:
Care and comfort measures provided to those with a terminal illness and
their families. It can include medical, counseling, and social services.
Most hospice care is furnished in home, while specialized hospices or
hospitals also provide this service.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL's): Independent functions
such as shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Independent
Living: Multi unit senior housing development that may provide
supportive services such as meals, housekeeping, social activities, and
transportation. Independent Living typically encourages socialization by
provision of meals in a central dining area and scheduled social activities.
May also be used to describe housing with few or no services (Senior
Apartment).
In Home Supportive Services (IHSS): A state benefit program
providing cash assistance for caregivers to take care of an elderly or
disabled person at home.
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN):
LPN's are trained to administer technical nursing procedures, as well as
provide a range of health care services such as administration of medication
and changing of dressings. One year of post high school education and
passage of a state licensing exam are required.
Life Care Community: A Continuing
Care Retirement Community (CCRC) which offers an insurance type contract and
provides all levels of care. It often includes payment for acute care and
physician's visits. Little or no change is made in the monthly fee,
regardless of the level of medical care required by the resident, except for
cost of living increases.
Long Term Care: Provision of services to
persons of any age who are afflicted with chronic health impairments. May be
provided at home or in a facility.
Long Term Care Insurance: A
privately issued insurance policy which covers the cost of care at home,
assisted living facility, residential care facility, adult day care, adult
day health care, hospice or nursing facility. Premiums are based on age,
health, elimination period, daily amount of benefit and duration of benefits
from beginning of care.
Medical Director:
A staff medical director assumes overall responsibility for the formulation
and implementation of all policies related to medical care. The medical
coordinator also coordinates with an individual's personal physician to
ensure that the facility delivers the care that is prescribed. In some
instances, the medical director may be a resident's primary physician.
Medi Cal: A joint federal/state program that
pays for health care services for those with low incomes or very high
medical bills relative to income and assets.
Medicare: The federal program providing
hospital and medical insurance to people aged 65 or older and to certain ill
or disabled persons. Benefits for nursing home and home health services are
limited.
Medicare Supplemental Insurance:
A private insurance policy that covers many of the gaps in Medicare
coverage.
Medications
Management/Medication Administration: Formalized procedure with a
written set of rules for the management of self administered medicine, as in
an assisted living setting. A program may include management of the timing
and dosage for residents, and could include coordination with a resident's
personal physician. The resident must take the medication him or herself.
For instance, the facility can remind the resident that she needs to give
herself the medicine injection, but the facility cannot perform the actual
injection itself.
Non Ambulatory: Inability to ambulate,
walk around, and usually bedridden or hospitalized.
Nursing Home: Facility licensed by the
state that provides 24 hour nursing care, room and board, and activities for
convalescent residents and those with chronic and/or long term care
illnesses. One step below Hospital acute care. Regular medical supervision
and rehabilitation therapy are mandated to be available. Nursing homes are
eligible to participate in the Medi Cal program. May be referred to as
Nursing Facility or Convalescent Home. Also see Skilled Nursing Facility.
Occupational Therapy: Process to
help individuals relearn activities of daily living, generally administered
by a licensed therapist.
Palliative Care
Physical Therapy:
Process that includes individualized programs of exercise to improve
physical mobility, often administered following a stroke, fall, or accident.
Physical therapists plan and administer prescribed physical therapy
treatment programs for residents to help restore their function and
strength.
Registered
Nurse (RN): Graduate trained nurse who has both passed a state
board examination and is licensed by a state agency to practice nursing. The
RN plans for resident care by assessing resident needs, developing and
monitoring care plans in conjunction with physicians, as well as executing
highly technical, skilled nursing treatments. A minimum of two years of
college is required in addition to passage of state exams.
Rehabilitation:
Therapeutic care for persons requiring intensive physical, occupations, or
speech therapy.
Residential Care:
See Assisted Living.
Respite Care:
Temporary relief from duties for caregivers, ranging from several hours to
days. May be provided in home or in a residential care setting such as an
assisted living facility or nursing home.
Senior Apartment:
Age restricted multiunit housing with self contained living units for older
adults who are able to care for themselves. Usually, no additional services
such as meals or transportation are provided.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): A supplement paid to persons
who are considered below poverty level, over age 65 or disabled.
TYPES OF LICENSED HOMES
Assisted Living Facility: See
Residential Care
Facility for the Elderly (RCFE)
Alzheimer's or Dementia Care Facility: This facility is an RCFE
with a dementia waiver that specializes solely in the care of patients with
Alzheimer's disease and/or other dementias. Most of these facilities have a
fenced enclosed area with an alarm that allows the client to go outside if
they desire. Programs and activities are planned with dementia care in mind.
Staff must receive special training in dementia care in order to quality for
the dementia waiver. Many also have hospice waivers so that they may keep
the client at the end stage of their life.
Residential Care
Facility for the Elderly (RCFE): RCFE's are also referred to as
Board and Care Homes or Assisted Living Facilities. These homes are for
people who are not able to live safely on their own, but who do not require
Skilled Nursing. Many RCFE's have a dementia waiver, which allows them to
specialize in dementia care. Many also have a hospice waiver, which allows
them to provide end of life care. Most of the time, these are private pay.
Psychiatric Locked Facilities: These facilities provide services
for persons whose symptoms include challenging behaviors such as violent,
disruptive behavior. They are distinguished from skilled nursing facilities
by having doors that lock from the inside and having secured walking areas.
This is usually paid for by personal funds, insurance, or Medi Cal.
Retirement
Community: This type of housing is also referred to as Congregate
Housing or Independent Living Communities. It is usually a multiunit senior
housing development that may provide supportive services such as meals,
housekeeping, social activities and transportation. They typically encourage
socialization by provision of meals in a central dining area and scheduled
social programs, but individuals may live in their own apartments.
Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF): SNF's are often referred to as
Nursing Homes, Convalescent Hospitals or Rest Homes. This facility, licensed
by the state, provides 24 hour nursing care, room and board, and activities
for convalescent residents and those with chronic and/or long term care
illnesses. Care is considered to be one step below hospital acute care. The
patient must be admitted and followed by a physician. Depending on the
individual's situation, the cost may be covered by:
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Medicare for the first 30 days.
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Medicare HMO for as many days as authorized up to 100 days.
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Private pay (personal funds and/or insurance)
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Many
SNF's accept Medi Cal, often for a limited number of persons, and for only
those who qualify for Medi Cal.
Special Care Units: Special Care
Units are usually the wing of a SNF or RCFE that specializes in Alzheimer's
disease and related dementias. These are for persons with progressive
dementia who are too mobile for a regular SNF. These units provide more
appropriate specialized care for this type of patient.
Senior Apartments: Age restricted
multiunit housing with self contained units for older adults who are able to
care for themselves. Usually, no additional services such are meals or
transportation is provided.
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Courtesy of
Accent on Seniors
888 95 HOMES (954-6637)
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of Lori Solomon
or
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