Activities of Daily Living (ADLs):

Activities that people do independently everyday - eating, bathing, dressing, moving about (mobility), transferring (for instance, from a bed to a chair), using the toilet, and maintaining bladder and bowel continence - used to measure the ability to function.

Acute Care:

Care for illness or injury that develops rapidly, has pronounced symptoms and is finite in length. Medical care that is required for a short period to cure a certain illness and/or condition.

Adult Day Care:
 

Social, recreational and/or rehabilitative services provided for persons who benefit from daytime supervision. An alternative form of care, between in the home and in an institution and refers to health support and rehabilitation services provided in the community to people who are unable to care for themselves independently during the day but are able to live at home at night.

Adult Foster Care:

A live-in arrangement where one adult lives with and is provided care and or services by an unrelated individual or family.

Ageism:

Prejudice against people because of their age.

Aging in Place:

When an older individual continues to live at home or within the community, outside of an institutional environment.

Alternate Facility:
 

A licensed residence other than a skilled nursing facility where care services are delivered (i.e. hospice, assisted living or Alzheimer's setting).

Alternate Plan of Care Benefit:

Payment for a special arrangement of services specifically designed to allow the person to reside in a setting other than a nursing facility (i.e. services to provide assistance and capital improvements such as ramps, grab bars and/or durable medical equipment).

Alzheimer's Disease:

A form of organic dementia resulting in premature mental deterioration, first described in 1906 by German neurologist, Alois Alzheimer.

Alzheimer's Units:

Special living units within skilled nursing facilities or assisted living facilities specifically providing care and services for those with Alzheimer's disease.

Aphasia:
 

Loss of the ability to use or understand language.

Assessment:

A determination of physical and/or mental status by a health professional based on established medical guidelines.

Asset Protection:

Willful legal planning to achieve protection from Medicaid "spend-down" requirements, typically provided by irreversible trusts - recently outlawed by Congress except under specific conditions.

Assisted Living Facility(ALF):

A non-medical institution providing room, board, laundry, some forms of personal care, and usually recreational services. Licensed by state departments of social services, these facilities exist under several names including domiciliary care facility, sheltered house, board and care home, community-based care facility, residential care facility, etc.

Bankruptcy:
 

An event we are trying to avoid by utilizing the insurance mechanism.

Bed Reservation Benefit:

Pays the cost of reserving your place in a care facility.

Benefit Period:

The maximum time that a policy will pay the daily or monthly benefit. The average stay in a skilled nursing facility is about 2.8 years, so some people choose a 3-year plan (1095 days) or 4-year plan (1465 days) with a higher Daily Benefit Amount to cover the average stay plus a little time and money to cover the care in their own home. Others feel safest with an unlimited or lifetime benefit period.

Capital Improvements:

Permanent physical adaptations to a residence, which enables an individual to remain and function in that environment.

Care Coordinator:
 

A health care professional whose training includes managing and arranging for long term care services. This person can be a doctor, nurse, social worker or other similarly trained and, licensed professional.

Care Management:

Services provided by a professional, typically a nurse or social worker, to assess, coordinate, and monitor the overall medical, personal, and social services needed by an individual requiring long-term care.

Caregiver - Primary:

The key person (usually a relative) overseeing and providing the care for a person who is incapacitated.

Caregiver(s)- Secondary:

Relatives or others who assist part-time in giving care.

Catastrophic Illness:
 

An illness resulting in sudden temporary or permanent change or significant disruption to a person's normal lifestyle.

Chronic Care:

Care for an illness continuing over a protracted period of time or recurring frequently. Chronic conditions often begin inconspicuously and symptoms are less pronounced than acute conditions.

Cognitive Impairment:

Refers to the loss or deterioration of mental capacity in people suffering from conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.