Glossary of Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) - A secondary housing unit located on the same lot as a primary residence.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) - Actions a person must do for themselves to engage independently in everyday life, such as bathing, dressing, eating, being mobile, moving from bed to a chair and using the toilet.
Acute Care - Medical care given for a short time to treat a specific illness or condition. This can include doctor visits, short hospital stays or surgery.
Adult Day Services/Centers - Centers that provide companionship and help to older adults who need supervision during the day. The programs can help give a break to caregivers.
Area Agency on Aging (AAA) – A local organization that helps older adults and caregivers find services like home- and community-based services. There are 52 AAAs in Pennsylvania covering all 67 counties.
Assisted Living Facility (ALF) - Housing for those who may need help living independently but do not need skilled nursing care. The level of assistance varies among residences and may include help with bathing, dressing, meals and housekeeping. The out-of-pocket costs vary depending on the level of assistance provided.
Assistive Technology Devices - Products that improve a person's ability to live and function independently. Low-tech assistive devices include canes and pill organizers; high-tech items include electric wheelchairs, hearing aids and smartphones.
C
Capacity - In a legal sense, a person's ability to understand information, make a choice based on that information and communicate that decision in an understandable way.
Caregiver – Anyone who provides care and support to someone who needs help due to aging, illness, injury, or disability. Caregivers can be spouses and partners, family members, friends, or professionals. Whether you provide full-time support or help here and there, you are a caregiver.
Caregiver Burnout – When stress and exhaustion take a toll on a person's physical, mental, and emotional health. Signs include feeling overwhelmed, irritable, or physically drained. Taking breaks, asking for help, and practicing self-care can help prevent burnout.
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) - Also known as a nursing assistant or nurse’s aide, provides basic patient care and support focusing on activities of daily living and basic medical needs.
Chore Services - Non-medical, in-home assistance with household tasks, including cleaning, yard work, and minor repairs, to help individuals maintain their independence and safety.
Chronic Disease - A condition that lasts one year or more and either requires ongoing medical attention or limits a person's ability to bathe, care for themselves, dress, eat or walk. Common examples include high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and others.
Cohousing - A small, planned community in which single-family homes, townhouses or rental units are clustered around amenities such as a community kitchen and dining room, common areas for sitting, craft and meeting rooms, gardens and potentially adult and child day care. The goal is to design a neighborhood where people of all ages and family statuses can rely on the informal, mutual support of neighbors to help out.
Community HealthChoices (CHC) - Pennsylvania’s Medicaid long-term services and supports program that covers services including nursing facility care, personal assistance, transportation, and other home and community-based services.
Conservator - A person whom a court appoints to manage someone's affairs when that person cannot do the job. Usually, a conservator manages only finances. In Pennsylvania, someone appointed by the court to handle an incapacitated person’s finances may be called a “guardian of the estate.”
Copayment, sometimes called Copays - A fixed amount — $20 for example — that one pays for a health care service covered by insurance or a health care program after payment of the deductible. Let's say a person's health plan's allowable cost for a doctor's office visit is $100. If a person hasn't yet met the deductible for the year, they pay the full $100. If a person met the deductible already, they pay the $20 copay, usually at the time of the visit.
County Assistance Office - Pennsylvania's County Assistance offices provide aid and support to families in need. Caseworkers are available at the county assistance office to help you and answer your questions.
Custodial Care - Nonmedical care that helps individuals with bathing, dressing and other basic care that most people do themselves, such as using eye drops. It can occur in a range of environments including adult day care, assisted living centers and residential care facilities.
D
Delirium - Short-term confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations.
Dementia - An overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.
Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order - A type of advance directive in which a person states that health care providers should not attempt to restart the heart through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if they have died a natural death.
Do Not Transport (DNT) Order - A type of advance directive in which a person states that health care providers should not transport them to a hospital for treatment.
Durable Medical Equipment - Reusable medical devices and supplies prescribed by a healthcare provider for long-term use at home, designed to assist with treatment, monitoring, or management of a medical condition or disability. Common examples include wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and other mobility aids.
E
Estate Planning - The process of preparing and arranging an individual’s assets including the to transfer property to beneficiaries.
F
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) - A federal labor law that provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid, job-protected leave to accommodate some family and medical situations. The law also requires that employees' group health benefits be maintained during the leave.
Family or Informal Caregiver - Any relative, partner, friend or neighbor who has a significant personal relationship with and provides a broad range of assistance for an older adult or a person with a chronic or disabling condition.
G
Guardianship - A court-sanctioned legal relationship in which a person is given legal authority over another when that other person is unable to make safe and sound decisions regarding his or her person or property, including health care decisions.
H
Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) - Provide in-home and community support for individuals who need help but want to remain in their homes and communities. Services can include personal care assistance, meals, transportation, and respite care.
Home Care Agency - A company or nonprofit agency that provides non-skilled services to individuals in their homes or other independent living environments.
Home Health Agency - A company or nonprofit agency, often certified by Medicare, that provides health-related services such as nursing, a home health aide, social work, or occupational, physical or speech therapy in a consumer's home.
Home Health Aide (HHA) - A trained and certified health care worker who assists a patient in the home. Duties typically include help with hygiene and exercise, light household work such as meal preparation, and monitoring the consumer's condition.
Home Modifications - Changes to a home to enhance safety, accessibility, and independence, including door widening, installation of grab bars or ramps.
Home-delivered Meals - A service that delivers daily meals to the homes of older or disabled people. Meals on Wheels is a common vendor of home-delivered meals.
Homemaker Services - Light housekeeping, meal preparation, washing clothes, shopping and other tasks workers from state-certified agencies perform for people who need assistance in their homes. Medicare does not cover these services, but some states’ Medicaid programs help qualified low-income adults pay for them. In Pennsylvania, “chore” services are available in Medicaid home and community-based services waiver programs.
Hospice Care - An approach to caring for people who have advanced, life-limiting, often incurable illnesses. Considered a type of palliative care, hospice focuses on caring for the whole person—physical and emotional—and managing symptoms of a disease rather than treating the disease itself, so they can spend their last days with dignity and quality, surrounded by loved ones.
I
Independent Enrollment Broker (IEB) - A contracted statewide entity to facilitate and streamline the eligibility/enrollment process for applicants seeking services for several Pennsylvania waivers/programs.
Independent Living - An age-restricted option for a house, condominium or apartment — sometimes offered as part of a Life Plan community — that has few services as part of the basic rate. Those that are included are more often related to convenience, such as grass cutting or a clubhouse.
Informed Consent - The process of making decisions about medical care or medical experimentation based on open and honest communication among the health care provider, the consumer and their family.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living – Tasks that support independent living. These include cooking, cleaning, managing medications, and handling finances. Caregivers often assist with these tasks when needed.
L
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) - A person who has completed nursing or vocational training and obtained a state license that authorizes the person to take care of basic duties in settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Life Plan Communities - Housing that offers a variety of living options and services — including independent living, assisted living and skilled care, often all on the same campus — and is designed to meet a person's changing needs.
Living Will - A legal document that expresses a person’s wishes for health care treatment when they can’t make decisions for themself and they have an end-stage medical condition or they are permanently unconscious.
Long-term Care Insurance - Coverage that helps policyholders pay for long-term care in their home or at a nursing home or assisted living facility, or for other designated services, depending on the policy.
Long-term Care Ombudsman - An advocate for residents of nursing homes, residential care homes and assisted living facilities. Ombudsmen are trained to resolve problems; they provide information on how to find a facility and what to do to get high-quality care.
M
Managed Care Organization (MCO) - A healthcare company or health plan contracted with the state to provide healthcare services while controlling costs and maintaining quality.
Medicaid - Government-provided health care coverage for eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. States and the U.S. government share the cost of Medicaid, with states administering the program according to federal requirements. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Human Services administers the Medicaid program.
Medicare Advantage, also called Medicare Part C - Private health plans that offer all benefits covered by "original" Medicare (parts A and B) but may also provide non-Medicare-covered benefits such as prescription drug coverage, dental and vision coverage, and even gym memberships, but coverage may vary.
Medicare - A federal government program that provides medical care coverage if a person is 65 or older, under 65 and receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, or under 65 and diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Medicare Part A is hospital coverage, and Medicare Part B covers certain doctors’ services, outpatient care, medical supplies and preventive services.
Medigap, also called Medicare Supplemental Insurance - Private policies designed to pay costs not covered using original Medicare. For example, Medigap plans might cover a person's Medicare copayments, coinsurance and deductibles, or services original Medicare doesn't cover, such as care when a person travels outside the United States.
Memory Café - A social gathering that provides a safe and welcoming environment for individuals living with dementia and their care partners, family, and friends to join with others going through a similar journey. Memory cafes can help reduce stigma that surrounds dementia by allowing people to be themselves in a non-judgmental, accepting social setting.
Memory Care Communities - Separate facilities or specialized units of an assisted living center that focus on helping people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, where the staff is specifically trained to deal with recall problems and other impairments.
N
National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) - A federal program that provides grants to states and territories for efforts to provide respite care, training, counseling and other supports that help caregivers to care for loved ones at home for as long as possible. Pennsylvania’s Caregiver Support Program (CSP) is administered by local Area Agencies on Aging.
Nursing home, also known as a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) - a public or private residential facility providing a high level of long-term personal or medical care for chronically ill, disabled and older people who are can no longer live safely in their homes.
O
Outpatient Care, also called Ambulatory Care - Health care procedures and treatment that do not require overnight hospitalization.
P
Palliative Care - Specialized medical care that focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Unlike hospice care, which is typically given to people with terminal conditions who are nearing the end of life, palliative care is appropriate at any stage of serious illness and can be given alongside treatments for the illness.
Patient Advocate - A professional who can resolve concerns about someone's health care experience, particularly problems that cannot be taken care of immediately.
Person-centered Care – Focusing on the individual’s and family’s preferences, needs, and values. Care decisions should respect choices and support independence as much as possible.
Personal Care Homes - Designed to provide safe, comfortable and supportive residential settings for adults who do not require skilled nursing services, but who do require assistance or supervision with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, or both.
Personal Care Services (PCS) - A broad term used to refer to help with personal hygiene and other self-care, such as bathing, dressing, eating, going to the bathroom, maintaining personal appearance and walking, provided by in-home personal care aides (PCAs). Some PCAs also help with meal preparation, grocery shopping and money management. In Pennsylvania, personal care services available through Medicaid home and community-based services programs are often called “Personal Assistance Services.”
Personal Emergency Response System (PERS), also known as a Medical Alert System - An alarm system that lets someone experiencing a medical or personal emergency, such as a fall, summon help. Traditional systems are triggered by the user pressing a button on a wearable device like a bracelet, sending a radio signal to a console connected to a phone, which calls an emergency response center. In recent years, some smartphones and other connected devices like smartwatches have incorporated medical alert functions.
Power of Attorney (POA) - A legal document allowing someone (an agent) to act for another. A health care POA enables an individual to designate a person to speak for them when they cannot speak for themselves. A financial POA allows an agent to manage the business and financial affairs of the principal.
Protective Services - A state service program that investigates and addresses allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including older adults and adults with disabilities.
R
Registered Nurse (RN) - An individual who has graduated from a state-approved school of nursing who provide and coordinate patient care and educate consumers and the public about various health conditions.
Respite Care - Short-term or temporary care of a sick, disabled or older person for a few hours, days or weeks, designed to provide a break for the regular caregiver.
S
Senior Community Centers (SCCs) - Facilitate the social, emotional, mental, and physical health, and well-being of older adults, aged 60 and older, as part of a comprehensive and coordinated system of programming and services. SCCs offer a wide variety of activities and services, including nutritious congregate meals, varying from location to location dependent on the needs and interests of the participant. Many SCCs go by other names that are well known in their local communities.
Skilled Care - Nursing or rehabilitation services that a doctor orders and that licensed health professionals such as nurses and physical therapists provide.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) - Monthly benefit payments to people below retirement age with a significant illness or impairment that prevents them from working for at least a year or is expected to result in death. Eligibility is based on past work in which the person paid Social Security taxes and is reviewed periodically to make sure the disability continues to restrict them from working.
Social Security - The U.S. government's social insurance program, providing monthly benefit payments to retired workers aged 62 and older; their spouses (or ex-spouses), children and survivors; and people with disabilities that prevent them from working for an extended period. The system is funded by payroll tax contributions workers make throughout their careers, with monthly benefit amounts determined primarily by their lifetime earnings history.
Sundown Syndrome or Late Day Confusion - A state of confusion that occurs later in the afternoon and into the night. It is most often found in patients who have dementia or Alzheimer's disease and includes a range of behaviors such as increased confusion, anxiety, agitation and sleeplessness.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - A program the Social Security Administration oversees that pays monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are disabled, blind, or aged 65 or older.
T
TRICARE - The health care program managed by the Department of Defense for uniformed service members, retirees and their families. It offers comprehensive health care coverage through several plan options, as well as pharmacy benefits, dental options and other special programs for eligible individuals.
V
Vital Signs - Signs of life - specifically, a person's heart rate (pulse), breathing rate, body temperature and blood pressure. They show doctors how well a person's body is functioning.
W
Waiver Program - Waivers offer an array of services and benefits such as choice of qualified providers, due process, and health and safety assurances. The name waiver comes from the fact that the federal government "waives" Medical Assistance rules for institutional care in order for Pennsylvania to use the same funds to provide supports and services for people closer to home in their own communities. Each waiver has its own unique set of eligibility requirements and services.