Glossary
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A
Activities
of Daily Living (ADLs)
Activities usually performed for oneself in the course of a normal
day including bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, walking, using
the telephone, taking medications, and other personal care activities.
Administration on Aging
The Administration on Aging (AoA), an agency in the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services is the official Federal agency dedicated
to policy development, planning and the delivery of supportive
home and community-based services to older persons and their
caregivers. The AoA administers the Older Americans Act and works
through the national aging network of State Units on Aging, Area
Agencies on Aging, Tribal and Native organizations representing
300 American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal organizations, and
two organizations serving Native Hawaiians, plus thousands of
service providers, adult care centers, caregivers, and volunteers.
Adult Day Care
Adult Day Care Centers offer social, recreational and health-related
services to individuals in a protective setting who cannot be
left alone during the day because of health care and social need,
confusion or disability.
Area Agency on Aging
Under the Older Americans Act, the Administration on Aging distributes
funds for various aging programs through state agencies on aging
with in turn fund local area agencies on aging. Area Agencies
on Aging address the concerns of older Americans at the local
level. They play an important role in identifying community and
social service needs and assuring that social and nutritional
supports are made available to older people in communities where
they live. In most cases, Area Agencies on Aging do not provide
direct services. Instead, they subcontract with other organizations
to facilitate the provision of a full range of services for older
people.
Assisted Living Facilities
A facility that provides a combination of housing and personalized
health care in a professionally managed group-setting designed
to respond to the individual needs of persons who require assistance
with activities of daily living. The facility provides care to
residents who cannot live independently, but who do not require
24 hour nursing care. Terminology varies from state to state,
and a facility that is called an Assisted Living Facility in
one state might be called other things in other states, i.e.
a Residential Care Facility (RCF), Board and Care Home, a Domiciliary
Care Facility, an Adult Care Home, or a Community-Based Care
Facility.
Assisted Technology
Assistive technology is any service or tool that helps the elderly
or disabled do the activities they have always done but must
now do differently. These tools are also sometimes called “adaptive
devices.” Such technology may be something as simple as
a walker to make moving around easier or an amplification device
to make sounds easier to hear (for talking on the telephone or
watching television, for instance).
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C
Care
or Case Management
Case managers work with family members and older adults to assess,
arrange and evaluate supportive efforts of seniors and their
families to remain independent.
Caregiver
A generic term referring to a person, either paid or voluntary,
who helps an older person with the activities of daily living,
health care, financial matters, guidance, companionship and social
interaction. A caregiver can provide more than one aspect of
care. Most often the term refers to a family member or friend
who aids the older person.
Chore Service
Chore service is available to persons who are physically unable
to perform tasks, such as heavy cleaning, minor repair or yard
work, and unable to secure assistance from family or friends
nor have the means to pay privately.
Congregate Meals
These meal programs provide older individuals with free or low
cost , nutritionally sound meals served five days a week in easily
accessible locations. Besides promoting better health through
improved nutrition, meal programs provide daily activities and
socialization for participants which help reduce the isolation
of old age.
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E
Elder
Abuse
Elder abuse is a term referring to any knowing, intentional,
or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes
harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. The specificity
of laws varies from state to state, but broadly defined, abuse
may be physical, emotional, sexual, exploitation, neglect, and
abandonment.
Elder Abuse Prevention Programs
Allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation of senior citizens
are investigated by highly trained protective service specialists.
Intervention is provided in instances of substantiated elder
abuse, neglect or exploitation.
Energy Assistance
These programs can provide low-income elderly homeowners and
renters with funds to help pay home utility and heating costs.
Eligibility requirements may vary from state to state.
F
Friendly
Visitors and Telephone Reassurance These programs, which have different titles in different communities,
provide regular personal or telephone contact for older persons
who are homebound or live alone. Usually a volunteer provides
the service. Besides developing friendships, perhaps a more important
aspect of these programs is the volunteer's ability to identify
needs of the individual as they occur and notify those who can
help.
G
Geriatric
Care Managers
Geriatric Care Managers specifically trained in geriatric care
management, and provide case management services on a fee-for-service
basis to individual clients.
Guardian
An individual appointed by a court of law to manage a person’s
financial and/or personal affairs because the court has found
that the person is not competent to
manage his or her own affairs. A conservator is similarly appointed,
but only for financial affairs.
Guardianship
The process in which an individual is appointed by a court of
law to manage a person’s financial and/or personal affairs
because the person is not able to or is not competent to manage
his/her own affairs.
H
Home and Community-Based Services A variety of supportive services delivered in community settings
or in an older person’s home are designed to help older
persons remain living at home and avoid institutionalization.
Home Delivered Meals
Sometimes referred to as “meals on wheels,” home
delivered meals are hot and nutritious meals delivered to homebound
persons who are unable to prepare their own meals and have no
outside assistance.
Home Health Care
Home health care is recognized as an increasingly important
alternative to hospitalization or care in a nursing home for
patients who do not need 24?hour day professional supervision.
Many people find it possible to remain at home for the entire
duration of their illness or at least to shorten their hospital
stay. In many cases readmission to the hospital can be prevented
or delayed. A variety of health services are provided in a home
health care program in the patient's home, under the direction
of a physician.
Home Modification
Adaptation and/or renovation to the living environment intended
to increase ease of use, safety, security and independence. There
are some local, state, Federal and volunteer programs that provide
special grants, loans and other assistance for home remodeling,
repair and modification.
Homemaker Service
Homemaker service is extended to individuals who are unable
to perform day?to?day household duties and have no one available
to assist them. Services include light housekeeping, laundry,
limited personal care, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and
shopping assistance.
Hospice
Usually a combination of at-home and hospital care of the terminally
ill that combines medical and social services. It is designed
to help both the patient and the family. Hospice care emphasizes
pain control, symptom management, and emotional support rather
than life-sustaining equipment.
I
Information
and Referral
Information Specialists are available to provide assistance
and linkage to available services and resources.
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L
Legal
Assistance
Legal advice and representation is available to persons aged
60 and over for certain types of legal matters including government
program benefits, tenant rights, and consumer problems.
Long Term Care
A general term that describes a range of medical, nursing, custodial,
social, and community services designed to help people with chronic
health impairments or forms of dementia.
Long Term Care Insurance
This type of insurance policy is designed to cover long term
care expenses in a facility or at home.
Long Term Care Ombudsman
Long term care ombudsmen, state and local, work cooperatively
with nursing homes and board and care facilities to improve the
quality of life for residents. They serve as patient's rights
advocates, investigating and negotiating resolutions to concerns
voiced by residents in matters of resident services and care.
M
Medicaid
Medicaid is a health benefit program administered by States
for people with low incomes who meet other eligibility requirements.
The health insurance program is financed by the federal and state
governments. Medicaid may also pay for nursing home care if the
individual’s income and assets are within certain limits.
Medicare
The national health insurance program for eligible people 65
and older and some disabled individuals. Part A covers hospital
costs. Part B covers doctor bills and other medical costs.
Medigap
Medigap is designed specifically to supplement and complement
Medicare’s benefits by filling in some of the gaps of Medicare
coverage. Medigap insurance policies are non-group policies that
may pay for Medicare deductibles, prescription drugs, or other
services not covered by Medicare.
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R
Respite Care
The provision of short-term relief (respite) to families caring
for their frail elders offers tremendous potential for maintaining
dependent persons in the least restrictive environment. Respite
services encompass traditional home?based care, as well as adult
day health, skilled nursing, home health aide and short term
institutional care. Respite can vary in time from part of a day
to several weeks.
S
Senior Centers
A vital link in the service delivery network which older persons
may avail themselves of, senior centers are functioning as meal
sites, screening clinics, recreational centers, social service
agency branch offices, mental health counseling clinics, older
worker employment agencies, volunteer coordinating centers, and
community meeting halls. The significance of senior centers cannot
be underestimated for they provide a sense of belonging, offer
the opportunity to meet old acquaintances and make new friends,
and encourage individuals to pursue activities of personal interest
and involvement in the community.
State Agencies on Aging (SUAs)
The Older Americans Act mandates that each state have a state
agency on aging which is part of state government. The State
Agency on Aging is the designated focal point within the state
government responsible for administering a complex service system
designed to complement and support other human service systems
in meeting the needs of the elderly.
State Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance
Programs
Known as SHIP, this program is comprised of 53 state programs
and nearly 15,000 trained volunteers who offer unbiased, one
on one counseling to assist Medicare beneficiaries understand
their health insurance benefits and options.
T
Transportation
Programs that provide door-to-door transportation for people
who may be elderly or disabled, who do not have private transportation
and who are unable to utilize public transportation to meet their
needs.
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