Understanding all the terms associated with retirement living and aging services can be challenging and confusing at times. Methodist Senior Services understands this and wants to help provide the right educational resources to elders, and their loved ones, so that they are more equipped to make decisions concerning senior living options.
Listed below are a few terms used by doctors, social workers and industry personnel when discussing aging services.
Activities of Daily Living (ADL): Tasks people perform every day that include grooming and eating.
Aging in Place: An elder remains in his/her living environment to age, regardless of decline.
Assessment: Evaluation, usually performed by a physician/nurse, of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social capabilities.
Assisted Living: State-regulated communities designed for seniors who require assistance with the tasks of daily living. They typically provide aid with grooming, housekeeping, eating, and medication assistance, depending on state regulations.
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC): Communities providing a range of services and senior living options in one location, allowing seniors to enjoy familiar settings as they age. As needs change, seniors can move from Independent Living to Assisted Living to Skilled Nursing Care without relocating to a different community.
Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease: A degenerative brain disease of unknown cause that is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer’s usually results in progressive memory loss, impaired thinking, disorientation, and changes in personality and mood. Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 5 million Americans.
Do Not Resuscitate (DNR): A DNR order allows you to choose whether you want CPR in an emergency. It is specific about CPR. It does not have instructions for other treatments, such as pain medicine, other medicines, or nutrition. A do-not-resuscitate order, or DNR order, is created, with a physician or attorney before an emergency occurs.
Green House® Home: Green Houses® are built to accommodate 10-12 elders, each with a private bathroom and bedroom. The rooms surround a living room called The Hearth and an open kitchen with large family-style dining. Traceway Retirement Community in Tupelo was the first in the nation to develop this environment of de-institutionalized nursing home life.
Home Health Care: Provision of medical and nursing services in the individual’s home by a licensed provider. Medicare can cover this care, if it meets certain guidelines regarding a recent hospital stay.
Home Care: Provides seniors with in-home assistance based on frequency and level of needs, and may include daily activities such as bathing, dressing, housekeeping, meals, and medication.
Hospice Care: Intended to provide spiritual, emotional, and practical support for terminally ill patients with a life expectancy of six months or less. The majority of hospice care is provided in-home but is also offered in a range of other settings, including a hospice facility, a hospital, or at a senior living community, such as Assisted Living or a Skilled Nursing facility.
In-House Therapy: This is a form of therapy, whether speech, physical or occupational therapy, offered for residents at a retirement community.
Independent Living: A u versatile senior living option, combining the ease and comfort of community living with the independence of a private residence. Ideal for seniors who seek retirement lifestyle, but do not require around-the-clock assistance. Residents enjoy the safety and security of emergency call systems, transportation, and activities.
Long-Term Care: Broad term that describes care given in the form of medical and support services to people who, due to illness or injury, have lost some or all of their capacity to function without assistance.
Medicaid: A program of medical aid designed for those unable to afford regular medical service and financed by the state and federal governments.
Medicare: A federal medical insurance program for seniors 65 and older and others who qualify for benefits.
Medication Management: Formalized process for the management of self-administered medicine, and may include written rules regarding timing, dosage and coordination with a resident’s personal physician.
Part A (Medicare): Provides short-term or swing bed rehab for up to 10 days post-acute hospital stays.
Part B (Medicare): Provides coverage for the care from healthcare providers, therapy and some Home Care.
Physical Therapy: Treatment of disease or injury by physical and mechanical means. Physical therapists plan and administer prescribed physical therapy treatments for patients to help restore their function and strength.
Skilled Nursing Care: State-licensed facility intended for seniors requiring 24-hour nursing or health care, whether long-term or short-term. Nursing homes offer a comfortable community surrounding, private or shared rooms, and around-the-clock medical staff, including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nurses’ aides.
We hope the terms above have helped clarify some of the questions you may have had concerning retirement living and aging services. There are many more terms you may encounter in the Aging Services Industry. We would love to help you best understand your options. Methodist Senior Services offers a FREE definitions guide that will give you insight into the unusual terminology used by healthcare providers and retirement community personnel. Contact us today to receive your FREE COPY of the definitions guide!
Better yet why not visit with the friendly team members on any of our twelve Statewide campuses. Let us help you find a retirement lifestyle that is right for you!