A Glossary for Senior's Housing

When one first starts investigating the world of options for seniors  housing it can be confusing - bewildering is more like it.  To make matters worse, some definitions are changing as you read this.  However, below are a number of definitions that may help.

Acute Care
Adult Congregate Living Facility (ACLF)
Adult Day Care
Assisted Living
Congregate Living
Condominium
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
Continuum of Care
Cooperative
Custodial Care
Day Care Centers
Empty Nester
"Granny Flats"
Retirement Community
Health Care Center
Home Health Care
Hospice
Independent Living
Life Lease
Long Term Care
Nursing Home
Personal Care Facility
Residential Hotel
Resort Retirement Community
Respite Care
Twenty Four Hour Emergency Response System

Definitions

Acute Care - Services usually provided in acute care hospital facilities which have operating rooms, laboratories and intensive care units. The level of services beyond skill nursing hope care with the supervision of a physician on a twenty four hour basis.

Adult Congregate Living Facility (ACLF) - Similar to "assisted living" facilities. More recent ACLF's typically provide housing that is generally non institutional, but provide such services as house keeping, meals, security, emergency call service, assistance with bathing, dressing and supervision of medications prescribed by the residents physician. Rooms or apartments are usually without kitchens, but offer private baths, and are either semi private or private which allows the residents to utilize some of their personal furnishings. Local examples include St. Catharines Place, The Loyalists, and Niagara Arms

Adult Day Care - Usually this type of care is provided in a free standing facility or in other facilities primarily designed for residential care, personal care or assisted living where the frail elderly, living in their primary residents, may secure daily, weekend or weekly care including meals, house keeping and personal assistance in bathing, dressing and medication supervision among other services. This type of program allows the older adult to remain in their independent living environment for as long as possible, usually their own home, or that of a relative who may provide the above services on a regular basis, but may need relief or assistance during the day or for longer periods of time.

Assisted Living - a term used to define the state of retirement community living between total independent apartment or cottage living and an long term care facility. Usually the resident lives in a smaller living unit similar to a hotel size room where they may dress themselves but may need total house keeping services, possibly aid in bathing, medication monitoring, and other services provided to them. They may take all meals in the dining facilities or have them in their room if unable to partake of their meals with other residents. Residents are expected to wear personal clothing and perform all everyday living functions they are capable of.

Congregate Living - Congregate simply means and assembly of a variety of facilities, services and people under one roof or community to provide facilities and services that otherwise would not be available in total independent living such as: dining facilities, health care programs, pharmacy, convenience store, barber/beauty shop, branch bank, library, house keeping, maintenance, transportation, leisure programs, security and numerous other facilities and services.

Condominium - Differs from owning your home as a fee simple deed or title where all the lot and shelter unit totally belong to the owner. A condominium usually means the owner has full title to his living unit only, and all other common areas are owned jointly with other residents, such as: the recreation amenities, side walks, grounds, stairways, elevators, club buildings, hallways and roadways.

Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) - Term used to describe those facilities or communities providing a full range of housing and services from independent living units to congregate living, assisted living, personal care and intermediate or skilled nursing services either on site or provided through contractual arrangement in a nearby facility. However, usually all services and facilities are provided on site with the sponsoring organization, or owner, guaranteeing living accommodations and health care services for life with a portion of the health care services possibly having been pre paid.

Continuum of Care - The progression from a total independent living unit such as an individual cottage or home to an apartment to an assisted living unit to the long term health care facility. The primary objective of a continuum of care community should be the return of individuals to their living unit from the health care unit as soon as they are capable of taking care of themselves.

Cooperative - Similar to condominium ownership except that residents own limited share of stock in the corporation rather than individual living unit ownership. In Ontario the share can not be more thatn $10.00. Owners will not receive the benefit of any appreciation in value of the housing units.  They are, for the most part not designed as seniors housing although some have made special consideration.  Some subsidies may be availabe for those with lower incomes.

Custodial Care - Care provided in a residential care or assisted living facility which provides for daily services of meals, dressing, grooming, housing and other services provided by personnel other than nursing personnel.

Day Care Centers - Programs which allows patients to live in their own homes within a community and be transported to a freestanding day care center or one located in an assisted living residential or personal care facility on a temporary basis, returning to their homes in the evening or weekends.

Empty Nester - The age category typically falling in the fifty + age group whose children have moved away from home, are self supporting or attending university. The empty nester may be looking for a community offering "life style" living with maintenance, security and various recreational amenities available within the community.

"Granny Flats" - A unit of housing erected on the lot where a family member lives to provide the security and support to the older adult by a younger family member.

Retirement Community - Those communities developed with a continuum of housing and services available to the residents from total independent housing units to long term health care services, either provided on site or off site. Retirement communities truly design for quality retirement living will offer long term professional management with a variety of recreational, health maintenance, physical and social programs geared to be flexible to meet the residents wants and needs with conveniences provided such as: barber/beauty shop, branch bank, dining facility, library, convenience store, twenty four hour emergency response service, community transportation, pharmacy service, meeting rooms, chapel, and various other facilities and services. Also known as retirement centers, retirement villages, retirement homes or continuing care retirement communities (CCRC).

Health Care Center - Usually an intermediate or skilled care nursing facility offering long term care for severe illness and a variety of preventative health programs. They may be more closely associated to quality nursing homes.

Home Health Care - Health care services rendered to an individual in their home. Services may include nursing service, speech, physical, occupational and rehabilitation therapy, home maker services, and social services. Such services may restrict insurance coverage of home health care to services provided by home health agencies.

Hospice - Program for care and counseling of the terminally ill, and counseling of their family during the period proceeding and after their death. Services include the emotional, physical, spiritual, psychological, financial and legal needs of both the patient and their family, either at a central facility or in the home, through a multi-team approach of professionals and volunteers.

Independent Living - The period of ones life where he/she is not dependent on family or friends for day to day living needs. Retirees may extend this status through the remainder of their lives when living in a full service retirement community with a full continuum of care to include individual homes, apartments, assisted living units, and long term skilled health care.

Life Lease - Sometimes used synonymously with life care but usually means a person may occupy a living unit "apartment, cottage or townhouse" for as long as he/she lives for a lease fee usually in line with the purchase price of a similar market defined freehold unit with the ownership staying with the retirement organization. The organization usually operates on a non-profit basis. Individuals under a life lease are usually required to pay a monthly fee for utilities and taxes.

Long Term Care - Long term care covers a broad spectrum of housing choices and has been traditionally associated with residential care, assisted living, intermediate or skilled nursing homes and life care communities servicing the elderly. However, in recent years long term care has been expanded to include twenty four hours emergency call service, home health, home maker services, hospice programs, respite care, home delivered meals, transportation, adult day care, home health aids or visitors, swing beds, family patient education, referral programs, and equipment rental among other services that support independent living units, all geared to provide older adults with the services and facilities necessary to live in a non-institutionalized setting or even remaining in their own homes.

Nursing Home - Today's nursing home is for the young and the old. It is for those who expect to recover as well as for those who will need long term nursing care. The nursing homes are usually Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF), Mental Health Care Facilities or Child Care Facilities. Some nursing facilities include specially designed areas for patients with Alzheimer's .

Personal Care Facility - Similar to an assisted living facility, but usually most of the residents will need more assistance in their daily personal routines than the majority of assisted living residents. Such as bathing assistance, possibly means served in their rooms, medication monitoring and perhaps help with walking and dressing. Residents in the personal care category are usually between residential care or assisted living facilities and services offered in an intermediate care facility (ICF) and not requiring regular registered nurse (RN) nursing care.

Residential Hotel - This term usually describes new facilities and those remodeled hotels and apartments which have been converted to retirement living units with a variety of services starting with only the living unit furnished, to meals, security, emergency call, passive and active recreational and social programs and possibly community transportation.

Resort Retirement Community - Those communities developed with the primary objective to sell real estate with various recreational amenities such as golf, tennis, swimming pools, beaches, and club complexes as the major drawing card. The community is developed with theses types of leisure activities in mind with little or no planning for the mental or physical well being of the residents except for those recreational amenities developed for the use by the retiree and the mental and physical benefit they may receive from the activity. The community has no long term health care or preventative health programs with the sale of real estate, or its rental, being the motivating force the existence for the community.

Respite Care - Another form of adult day care usually providing the same services, but for longer periods of time over twenty four hours to allow the relative or other primary care provider to have a break in their daily care routines. Respite care services include meals, house keeping, and, if needed, personal assistance in bathing, dressing, walking, grooming, and medication supervision among other services.

Twenty Four Hour Emergency Response System - A communication system between the living units and the central administration area, a nursing facility, or to an acute care facility used to request emergency assistance in case of a fall or other medical emergencies. The most satisfactory systems provide mobile audio communication between the resident and the health management staff. Most quality retirement communities, design for older adults, have this type of system included.