An appliance or gadget which assists user in the operation of self-care, work or leisure activities.
Administrator
Responsible for directing and coordinating all activities of the facility, budget and finance, coordination of personnel, financial management, planning and directing. Is licensed as a Nursing Home Administrator
Admissions Coordinator/Director
Coordinates the admissions procedures for incoming residents.
Adult Day Care Center
A community based program offering structured activities and meals. Some health services may be offered for an additional fee. Transportation may be provided. Most programs operate during the week and can be attended full or part-time.
Advanced Directives
A written statement of an individual's preferences and directions regarding health care. Advanced Directives protect your rights even if you become mentally or physically unable to choose or communicate your wishes. They provide a means to appoint an agent to make health care decisions if the principal becomes unable. A Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care are two examples of Advanced Directives.
Age-Associated Memory Impairment
Mild memory loss that increases with age. Examples include forgetting where you left a book or missing a lunch date; a memory loss that does not interfere with every day living and which you recall later. Mild memory loss is normal and should not be confused with forms of dementia which are progressive and do affect every day living.
Akasthesia
Inability to sit still associated with movement disorders.
Alzheimer’s Disease
A progressive and irreversible organic disease, typically occurring in the elderly and characterized by degeneration of the brain cells, leading to dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the single most common cause. Progresses from forgetfulness to severe memory loss and disorientation, lack of concentration, loss of ability to calculate numbers and finally to increased severity of all symptoms and significant personality changes.
Ambulate
To walk.
Aphasia
The loss of ability to express oneself and/or understand language.
Apraxia
Inability to carry out a complex or skilled movement due to deficiencies in cognition.
Area Adjusted Per Capita Cost (AAPCC)
How much managed care plans get paid.
Area Agency on Aging (AAA)
County agency which is responsible for studying and planning the use of Federal Older American Act funds to provide senior services.
Assisted Living
Senior housing that provides individual apartments, which may or may not have a kitchenette. Facilities offer 24 hour on site staff, congregate dining, and activity programs. Nursing services are provided for an additional fee.
Audiologist/Audiology
Health care professionals specializing in the measurement of hearing and the correction of hearing impairment or hearing loss.
These are group living arrangements that are designed to meet the needs of people who cannot live independently, but do not require nursing home services. These homes offer a wider range of services than independent living options. Most provide help with some of the activities of daily living. In some cases, private long-term care insurance and medical assistance programs will help pay for this type of living.
Bookkeeper/Accounting Clerk
Coordinates facility accounts and payroll administration. Maintains records of facility finances.
Business Office Manager/Controller
Directs and supervises the activities and personnel of the business office. Coordinates financial transactions and maintains all financial records. May assist in budget preparation and management. Coordinates administrative and clerical functions of the business office.
A social worker or health care professional who can provide comprehensive assessments to identify care needs, locate and coordinate senior resources for older adults and their families.
Caregiver
An individual who takes care of an elderly person in need.
Case Mix
A formulative method used in some States (including MN) to determine patients' needs for health care resources within a nursing facility. The assessment is based in part on functional ability to perform ADL’s, medical and psychiatric diagnosis. Case mix can determine the daily rate during a nursing home stay. In Minnesota the Case Mix classification ranges from "A" (most independent) to "K" (most dependent).
Chore/Housekeeping Services
Services may include yard and house maintenance, housekeeping or meal preparation, shopping and transportation. No personal or medical care is provided.
Cognition
The process of knowing; of being aware of thoughts. The ability to reason and understand.
Combined Nursing Specialist
Coordinates, plans, or directs more than one area of expertise; a position of combined responsibilities; for example, a staff development director who also coordinates infection control programs. Is a licensed nurse.
Community-Based Services
Any licensed facility, building, or agency from where only nonmedical care and supervision are provided. Examples of nonmedical care include (but are not limited to): grooming, bathing, assistance with medications, monitoring diet, and assuming the responsibility for the safety of residents.
Companion
A personal care attendant who provides assistance with shopping, meal preparation, supervision, companionship, and light housekeeping. Companions usually do not provide personal care such as bathing, dressing and grooming. No medical care is provided.
Companion Care
Nonmedical services that are provided in the patient’s home. Examples include, (but are not limited to) helping the senior with everyday activities, making meals, grooming, ensuring safety, etc.
Conservator
Person appointed by the court to act as the legal representative of a person who is mentally or physically incapable of managing his or her affairs.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs)
CCRCs are housing communities that provide different levels of care based on the needs of their residents -- from independent living apartments to skilled nursing in an affiliated nursing home. Residents move from one setting to another based on their needs, but continue to remain a part of their CCRC's community. Many CCRCs require a large payment prior to admission, then charge monthly fees above that.
Custodial Care
In the context of long-term care or Medicare, refers to assistance requiring the lowest level of skills, helping with activities of daily living, but not with medical care. Can be provided by people who have no medical training, sometimes by aides trained in caregiving skills and frequently provided informally by family members or other unpaid volunteers. Custodial care services, which may be performed in a nursing home, the individual’s home, or some other setting, are the most common type of services required by the elderly and the disabled.
CVA
Refers to a cerebrovascular accident or stroke in which an area of the brain is damaged due to a sudden interruption of blood supply.
Deterioration of mental ability, generally caused by an organic brain disease, less often by psychological factors. Characterized by disorientation and loss of memory and intellect. (See also Alzheimer’s)
Developmental Disability (DD)
refers to a serious and chronic disability, which is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments. Those affected have limitations in three or more of the following areas: self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity of independent living, economic self-sufficiency; and often require long-term treatment and care-planning.
Dialysis
A process that allows diffusion of solutes dissolved in blood across a semi-permeable membrane into another solution and vice versa. This means it removes waste products through this special membrane and bicarbonate can diffuse across to the blood to neutralize acid. In this way an imbalance in the body caused by kidney failure can be corrected.
Dialysis (Hemodialysis)
Hemodialysis is a process by which excess waste products and water are removed from the patient’s blood. The process requires the use of a machine and an exchange (diffusion) of waste takes place from blood to the dialysis solution and vice versa. The blood is removed from the body through a special created vein in the forearm known as an arterio-venous fistula. A minor operation is required to join an artery and vein, allowing arterial blood to flow directly into the vein.
Dietician
Responsible for coordinating and assuring professional nutrition and therapeutic diet services for residents. Is registered as a Dietician. May serve on a consulting basis.
Director of Nursing
Organizes and administers, coordinates and supervises nursing services for residents. Responsible for all functions of the nursing department and its personnel. Is a licensed Registered Nurse.
Discharge Planner
A social worker or nurse who assists patients and their families with health care arrangements following a hospital stay.
Durable Medical Equipment
Equipment which is primarily used for a medical purpose including but limited to: wheelchairs, canes, walkers, electric beds and oxygen machines. Some of this equipment may be covered under Medicare.
Durable Power of Attorney
A power of attorney that stays in effect even after the principal becomes incompetent.
Dysphagia
A swallowing disorder often depicted by difficulty in oral preparation for swallowing. Difficulty moving material from the mouth to stomach.
A collection of fluid in the tissues which causes swelling.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
A procedure used for the detection of epilepsy, coma or brain death; uses electrodes on the scalp to record electrical activity of the brain.
Electromyography (EMG)
A procedure which helps to diagnose damage to nerves or muscles.
Emergency Response Systems
Electronic monitors on a person or in your home to provide automatic response to medical or other emergencies.
Emotional Lability
A rapid change in emotional state
(laughing, crying) with no apparent reason and in inappropriate situations.
Environmental Services Director
Plans, organizes, and directs the various areas of environmental services, their functions and personnel, including laundry, housekeeping/custodial, and maintenance services.
Estate Planning
Steps you can take while living to determine what happens to your property when you die.
Plans and directs the overall financial operations of the facility, including risk management, cash management, financial statements, etc. May supervise activities and personnel of the business office.
Fiscal Year
A length of time that is 365 days, but goes from an arbitrary date to arbitrary date, instead of January 1 to December 31.
Foley Catheter
A tube which is inserted into the urinary bladder in order to drain urine. The urine drains through a tube and is collected in a plastic pouch.
Food Service Aide
Performs various non-professional activities/services necessary in providing for dietary needs of residents.
Food Service Director
Responsible for planning, organizing and directing the operations of the dietary department personnel. May be certified as a dietary manager.
Separate, secured area of the hospital with trained psychiatric staff who evaluate and treat older (and other) patients with mental diseases and dementia.
GI Tube
A tube inserted surgically through an opening in the stomach. GI tubes are another means of nutritional sustenance for those individuals unable to take these substances by mouth.
Grandfather
A legal term that means all existing conditions that were present at the time of a law or ordinance do not have to be changed since they were there when the conditions were legal.
Guardianship
An extreme measure that severely restricts the legal rights of an elder based on a court’s finding of legal incompetence.
A written legal document which allows you to: Appoint another person (agent) to make health care decision for you if you are unable to make or communicate decisions for yourself; and/or leave written instructions for your health care wishes and preferences including but not limited to: CPR, artificial nutrition and hydration, kidney dialysis, and pain relief.
Health Care Financing Administration
The Federal agency that runs the Medicare/Medicaid programs.
Health Care Power of Attorney
The appointment of a health care agent to make decisions when the principal becomes unable to make or communicate decisions.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
A managed care plan which stresses preventative care and offers the HMO the same premium whether or not a patient needs help. This encourages patients to keep up with medical problems instead of letting unknowingly potentially serious conditions go too far.
Hickman Catheter
A Hickman catheter is a central venous access device through which the infusion of fluids, such as total parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy or other liquid medications can be delivered. This type of catheter is inserted through the subclavian vein, located near the neck in the upper chest area, and the catheter tip guided to the area of the subclavian vein just above the right ventricle of the heart.
Home Health Agency
An agency that provides medical services in a home setting. Services may be provided by a nurse, occupational, speech or physical therapist, social worker, or home health aide.
Home Health Aide
Provides personal cares such as bathing, dressing and grooming. May include light housekeeping services.
Hospice
Supportive medical and social programs for terminally ill patients and families either at home or in facility.
Housekeeping Aide/Custodian
Performs various activities necessary in providing housekeeping and custodial services to residents and the facility.
Housekeeping Supervisor
Organizes and coordinates the activities in the laundry and housekeeping department. May supervise department personnel.
Human Resources/Personnel Director
Plans, directs, and coordinates the activities of the human resources/personnel department, including recruitment and hiring, benefits, administration, etc.
May be determined due to mental or physical condition. Can be temporary or permanent. A person can be incapacitated without being incompetent.
Incompetence
Determined by a legal proceeding. Requires that the individual is incapable of handling assets and exercising certain legal rights.
Infection Control Practitioner
Coordinates infection control programs and policies for the facility. Responsible for infection control only. Is a licensed nurse.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)
An index which measures a client’s ability and degree of independence in cognitive and social functioning including shopping, cooking, doing housework, managing money, and using the telephone.
Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICFs/MR)
These facilities provide long term care for individuals with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities. The services provided are based on client needs, which vary according to age and level or mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Individuals can reside in facilities from youth until old age making these facilities a permanent home and staff a second family. ICFs/MR are bound by federal regulations. The trend in recent years has been away from care provided in large state-run institutions to care provided in smaller, privately run facilities.
IV/Infusion Therapies
The way that liquid solutions or liquid medications are administered directly into the blood stream through an intravenous catheter which is inserted into a vein in the body. Infusion therapies can include total parenteral nutrition, antibiotics and other drugs, blood, and chemotherapy.
Organizes and coordinates the activities in the laundry department. May supervise department personnel.
Licensed Practical Nurse
Responsible for providing professional hands-on nursing care to residents within an assigned unit. May coordinate activities of nursing assistants and/or trained medication aides. Is licenses as a Licensed Practical Nurse.
Living Will
A document that makes a person’s preferences regarding medical treatments at the end of life known.
Long-Term Care Facilities
A range of institutions that provide health care to people who are unable to manage independently in the community. Facilities may provide short-term rehabilitative services as well as chronic care management.
Plans and directs activities and personnel in the maintenance of the facility’s building, physical plant, property, and equipment. Is licensed as a stationary engineer.
Maintenance Technician/Assistant
Assists the maintenance supervisor in the activities of the department. May be licensed as an engineer.
Managed Care
A method of financing and delivering health care for a set fee using a network of physicians and other providers who have agreed to the set fees.
Medicaid/Medical Assistance
A jointly funded federal and state government program in which the states provide health care for people with low-income and minimal assets. This is a means tested program.
Medical Records Director/Coordinator
Plans and directs the activities and personnel of the department. Coordinates the management of resident medical records and the clerical needs of the nursing department.
Medicare
Federal program providing health care coverage/insurance for people over 65 and some disabled. Part A covers in-patient care, skilled nursing facility, hospice and short-term health care. Part B covers doctors’ services, outpatient hospital care, and durable medical equipment. It does not provide for long-term care of the elderly except under limited conditions. To obtain a free copy of Your Medicare Handbook, call (800) 638-6833.
Medicare Supplemental Insurance
This is private insurance (often called Medigap) that pays Medicare's deductibles and co-insurances, and may cover services not covered by Medicare. Most Medigap plans will help pay for skilled nursing care, but only when that care is covered by Medicare.
Methicillin Resitant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
MRSA are antibiotic-resistant organisms that can lead to wound infections, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia, among other conditions. The risk of infection with MRSA is low and typically the organism is spread from one individual to another through contact with health care workers.
A tube that passes through an individual’s nose and throat and ends in the patient's stomach. This tube allows for direct "tube feeding" to maintain the nutritional status of the patient or removal of stomach acids.
Nursing Assistant/Nursing Aide
Performs various resident care activities and related non-professional services necessary in caring for the personal needs of residents. Is certified as a nursing assistant.
Nursing Facility (NF)
Refers to boarding care organizations that are certified as nursing facilities for the federal Medicaid program.
Nursing Supervisor/Manager
Supervises and coordinates activities of nursing department personnel. Supervises the management of nursing care to residents. Primary duties do not involve hands-on patient care. Is a licensed registered nurse.
Administers occupational therapy services to residents.
Occupational therapy
A health profession that uses goal-directed activities, appropriate to each person's age and social role, to restore, develop, or maintain the ability for independent, satisfying living. Occupational therapists evaluate, treat, and consult with individuals whose abilities to cope with the tasks of everyday living are threatened or impaired by physical illness or injury, psychosocial disability, or developmental deficits. Occupational therapists work in hospitals, rehabilitation agencies, long-term-care facilities, and other health-care organizations.
Ombudsman
An individual who investigates consumer complaints against a nursing home or community resident facility. While Ombudsman are not allowed to recommend one nursing home over another they can provide information on these important subjects: the results of the latest survey; the number of outstanding complaints; the number and nature of complaints lodged in the last year; the results and conclusions of recent complaint investigations.
This act requires health care organizations to educate patients and staff about end-of-life treatments and to document a patient’s wishes.
Persistent Vegetative State (PVS)
A condition in which the injured party utters no words and does not follow commands or make meaningful responses.
Physical Therapist
Administers and/or supervises physical therapy treatments for residents. May supervise departmental personnel. Is registered as a physical therapist.
Physical Therapy
Helps individuals to regain their strength and mobility, manage pain or adapt to a permanent disability. Physical Therapists may be on staff at a senior facility or contracted through a home care or rehabilitation agency. Medicare may cover some of the costs of physical therapy after client meets certain requirements.
Plateau
A temporary or permanent leveling off in the recovery process. This term may be utilized in determining Medicare or other insurance benefits.
Power of Attorney
A legal document allowing one person to act in a legal matter on another’s behalf pursuant to financial or real-estate transactions.
Prospective Payment System(PPS)
Method of payment under Medicare for skilled nursing facilities.
Psychotrophic Drugs
Antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and anti-psychotic drugs used for delusions, extreme agitation, hallucinations, or paranoia. They are often referred to as mind or behavior altering drugs.
The movement of a joint (important to prevent contractures).
Registered Nurse
Responsible for providing professional hands-on nursing care to residents within an assigned unit. May coordinate activities of nursing assistants and/or trained medication aides. Is licensed as a licensed practical nurse.
Residential Care Facility
These are group living arrangements that are designed to meet the needs of people who cannot live independently, but do not require nursing home services. These homes offer a wider range of services than independent living options. Most provide help with some of the activities of daily living. In some cases, private long-term care insurance and medical assistance programs will help pay for this type of service.
Respiratory Therapy
Assists patients with breathing difficulties to reduce fatigue and increase tolerance in performing daily activities.
Respite
Services designed to relieve the caregiver from caregiver duties. Respite care may be from a few hours to several days. Care can be provided in a home setting or long-term care facility.
Retirement Community
This type of living arrangement is for older people who are nearly or totally independent and wish to live in a community. Special programs like recreational activities, meal services, and transportation for errands are often offered. Nursing services are not offered, but can be hired privately.
Dated term referring to organic dementia associated with old age. (Refer to dementia and/or Alzheimer’s.)
Side Rail
Refers to the rails on a hospital bed.
Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
A facility where most patients need 24-hour nursing assistance. Often, patients are bed-ridden or cannot feed themselves. It is licensed for skilled care.
Social Services Director
Responsible for planning and administering the functions of the social services department. Supervises the activities of departmental personnel. May be licensed as a Social Worker.
Social Worker
Provides and performs professional psychosocial services for residents.
Speech Therapist
Administers speech therapy for residents.
Speech Therapy
This type of service helps individuals overcome communication conditions such as aphasia, swallowing difficulties and voice disorders. Speech therapists may be on staff at a senior facility or contracted through a home care or rehabilitation service. Medicare may cover some of the costs of physical therapy after client meets certain requirements.
Spiritual Care Director/Chaplain
Organizes, coordinates, and administers spiritual care services for residents. May be an ordained clergy.
Staff Development Director
Plans and directs employee educational and in-service training programs. Responsible for staff development.. Is a licensed nurse.
Sub-acute Care
A level of care designed for the individual who has had an acute event as a result of an illness, and is in need of skilled nursing or rehabilitation but does not need the intensive diagnostic or invasive procedures of the hospital.
Subsidized Senior Housing
Housing program that accepts Federal and State monies to subsidize housing for older people with low to moderate incomes. A number of these facilities offer assistance to residents who need help with certain tasks, such as shopping and laundry, but residents generally live independently in an apartment within the senior housing complex.
Sunset
A term referring to the 'phasing out' of a bill.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
A federal program for the disabled or elderly poor. It has certain conditions which must be met to qualify.
Responsible for planning and administering the recreational activity department functions for residents. Supervises the activities of the department and its personnel. May be certified as a therapeutic recreation specialist.
Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)
Also known as hyperalimentation, this form of nutrition can be administered alone, or in conjunction with oral intake. Total parenteral nutrition is a liquid intravenous solution mixture and typically contains minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, and trace elements in. TPN is typically administered through a large vein in the body because of its high concentration of ingredients. Individuals who are unable to eat or who do not receive enough calories, essential vitamins, and minerals from eating can receive enough nutrients to maintain weight from TPN. This type of nutrition requires a doctor’s order.
Trained Medication Aide
Performs basic medication pass services to residents under the direction of a nurse. Is certified as a trained medication aide.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
An acute episode of temporary and focal loss of cerebral function of vascular (occlusive) origin.
A gram-positive bacteria that is resistant to the antibiotic Vancomycin. Enterococci are bacteria that are normally found in the gastrointestinal and female genital tracts. Since 1989 VRE infection has been increasing and makes up approximately 14% of all hospital acquired infections.
Ventilator
A ventilator, also known as a respirator, is a machine that pushes air into the lungs through a tube placed in the trachea (breathing tube). Ventilators are used when a person cannot breathe on their own or cannot breathe effectively enough to provide adequate oxygen to the cells of the body or rid the body of carbon dioxide.
Volunteer Coordinator
Coordinates, plans, and directs the facility’s volunteer services programs. Supervises activities of volunteers.
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