Glossary

Glossary

The following are explanations of common terms that are often associated with aging. Chances are you will frequently encounter many of these terms.

TERM	DEFINITION / EXPLANATION
AARP	The AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people 50 and over. AARP provides information and resources; advocate on legislative, consumer, and legal issues; assist members to serve their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for members. AARP offers a number of Member Benefits provided by third parties through contractual arrangements with a subsidiary of AARP. AARP Membership Benefits currently available to AARP Members include: life, auto and homeowner’s insurance; discounts on products and services, on-line resources, and publications.
Adult Day Care	Enrichment programs typically offered at a Senior or Community Center that provide senior citizens with social, educational and recreational programs. Transportation and meals are often provided.
Advance Directives	Legal documents executed by a mentally competent person that indicates his medical wishes should it be necessary for someone else to make treatment decisions on his behalf.
Age in Place	Refers to people growing old in the home where they currently live.
Agent	Someone appointed by your parent, usually a trusted family member or friend that is authorized by a Power of Attorney to make legal decisions on his or her behalf.
Agitation	Disruptive behavior such as screaming, shouting, cursing, moaning, and fidgeting that interferes in the well being of others
Alzheimer’s Disease	A progressive disease characterized by intellectual challenges that are a disruption of functioning such as thinking, remembering and reasoning.
Annual Exclusions	Each calendar year, a person can transfer or gift tax-free amounts of up to and including $11,000 to others.
Arthritis	A disease commonly associated with pain and stiffness in joints
Assessment	An evaluation of a person’s medical, mental, emotional, and social capabilities.
Assisted Living Facility	A residential care setting that provides housing, meals, activities, and various support services for seniors needing a little extra assistance for things like dispensing medication and assistance with personal care such as bathing, grooming and dressing.
Autonomy	A person’s ability to act in her own best interest
Autopsy	Medical examination of a body after death, usually to determine the cause of death.

Behavioral Symptoms	Physical and emotional symptoms such as wandering, depression, anxiety and hostility.
Beneficiary	An individual named in a will who is designated to receive all or part of an estate upon someone’s death.
Bereavement	The process of dealing with or grieving over a death.

Cancer	A group of many related diseases all of which involve out-of-control growth and spread of abnormal cells in any of the body’s tissues.
Caregiver	Persons with primary responsibility for the care and well being of an elderly or incapacitated person. Caregivers are typically a family member or a designated health care provider.
Case Management	A term used by care professionals that indicates a person’s medical condition, care requirements and actions to meet his needs.
Coexisting Illness	Multiple medical conditions that simultaneously exist with one another, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Cognitive Abilities	Mental abilities such as judgment, memory, learning, comprehension, and reasoning.
Competency	A person’s ability to make informed choices.
Continuum of Care	Refers to the ability to provide uninterrupted levels of care throughout the progression of a person’s illness, providing more or less care as appropriate.
Coordination of Benefits	The process of ensuring medical claims are paid appropriately when a person has multiple providers of health care coverage.
Co-payment	Typically a flat dollar amount that the recipient must pay based on the medical services received.
Covered Expenses	The medical procedures or services that a member’s health care plan will pay.
Cueing	Providing someone direction such as instruction or hints to assist a person who is experiencing memory difficulties.
Curative Care	Care intended to treat or cure a person’s illness with the intent to maximizing someone’s life.
Custodial Care	Basic care such as bathing, dressing, and grooming that can be given safely and reasonably by a person who is not medically skilled.

DNR	Do Not Resuscitate – an order not to perform life saving measures when a person’s heart stops or he stops breathing.
Death Certificate	A document signed by a doctor that confirms a person’s death and is required to handle estate matters.
Deductible	An amount payable by person before her insurance begins to pay for medical services.
Deficits	Physical and/or cognitive abilities that have deteriorated or a person has lost as a result of aging or a medical condition.
Dementia	The loss or deterioration of intellectual functions (such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning) that interfere with a person’s daily living. Dementia is not a disease itself. Rather it is a group of symptoms. Symptoms may include changes in personality, mood, and behavior. Dementia is irreversible when caused by disease or injury.
Detachment	The recognition that we are not responsible for another person’s medical condition, treatment and decisions. Also, the emotional separation from another person so that we are not used, abused or manipulated by others actions or inactions.
Diagnosis	The process whereby a physician determines a person’s medical condition by studying the patient’s medical history, symptoms, examining the patient, and analyzing the results of any tests performed.
Dignity	Avoiding degrading actions or words to preserve a person’s self-respect.
Durable Power of Attorney	A legal document that authorizes an agent (usually a trusted family member or friend) to make legal decisions on the person’s behalf when unavailable or unable to do so himself.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care	A legal document that appoints an agent to make decisions regarding health care, including choice of health care providers, medical treatment, and end-of-life decisions.

Elder Law Attorney	An attorney who practices or specializes in the legal issues primarily pertaining to older adults.
Executor	The individual named in a will who manages the estate of a deceased individual according to their wishes.
Estate Planning	A process of assessing a person’s accumulated wealth and making decisions to preserve assets and to minimize taxes in the eventual transfer of their assets to others.
Estate Tax	A federal tax on a person’s assets at the time of death above a certain dollar amount.
Exclusions	Medical services or procedures that are not covered by a person’s medical insurance plan.

Functional Assessment	An evaluation to identifying areas where a person is functioning below the norm and to identify challenges that may impede a person’s ability to independently care for herself and function in everyday society.
Funeral Pre-Planning	A process of making your wishes and intentions known regarding your funeral prior to your death.

Gait	Refers to how a person walks, including their speed, balance and ability to lift her feet as she walks.
Geriatric Functional Assessment	SEE Functional Assessment.
Geriatrics	A general term referring to issues involving older people.
Geriatrician	A medical doctor specializing in the care of older adults.
Grief	An emotion exhibited by people who have suffered a great loss often characterized by sobbing, wailing, and the temporary ability to clearly reason.

Hallucination	A sensory experience whereby a person sees, hears, smells, tastes, or feels something that isn’t there.
Heart Disease	A general medical term referring to cardiovascular dysfunction usually associated with a heart attack.
Hoarding	An obsessive behavior whereby a person collects (stockpiles) things often of little or no value and then hides or guards them.
HMO	Health Maintenance Organization offering medical insurance.
Home Health Care	A range of nursing and homemaker services provided to persons in their home as needed.
Honorarium	A payment for a service for which a price is not set.
Hospice	A philosophy and approach to providing comfort and care to people with a terminal disease and short life expectancy.
Huntington Disease	A degenerative brain disorder that slowly reduces an individual’s ability to walk, think, talk and reason.

Incontinence	Loss of control over bladder or bowel function.
Independent Living	Refers to a living environment, similar to an apartment, for more active seniors where services such as meals, activities, transportation, housekeeping and security are available.
In-Home Care	See HOME HEALTH CARE.

Legacy	Maintaining an historical record of a person and events of her life for future generations to enjoy.
Living Trust	A legal document governed by a trustee (usually a trusted friend, family member, or bank representative) that proves stipulations on how one’s assets are to be managed while in trust and distributed upon death.
Living Will	A legal document expressing a person’s decision on the use of artificial life support systems.
Long Term Care	Care provided on an ongoing basis to provide for a person’s needs including adult day care, in-home care, nursing home care, and hospice care.
Long Term Care Insurance	Insurance that pays for a person’s care arrangements after certain criteria and eligibility requirements are met. Often the coverage period or maximum payout is defined.

Managed Care	Care services covered by an HMO medical insurance plan.
Meals on Wheels	A community service that delivers meals to homebound elderly people.
Medicaid	A federal government program administered by states that provides health care and related services to low-income individuals.
Medicare	A federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older.
Medicare Eligible Expenses	Expenses for medical procedures and services recognized and approved by Medicare and provided by doctors that accept Medicare for payment.

Needs	Issues of critical importance to one’s health, well-being and safety.
NORC	An acronym standing for Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. A neighborhood not originally planned for senior citizens but where most of its residents have grown old.
Nursing Care	A residential care setting that provides housing, meals, activities, and various support services for seniors including medical assistance by trained nurses aides, LPN’s and RN’s.

Obituary	A brief article that appears in newspapers and acknowledges a person’s death, indicates arrangements and briefly recaps significant events, contributions or achievements of a person’s life.
Osteoporosis	A medical condition where the amount of calcium in a person’s bones decreases resulting in frequent fractures and a stooped posture.

Palliative Care	Care designed to make a patient comfortable when suffering from a terminal, illness.
Paranoia	Unprovoked or unexplainable suspicion of others.
Parkinson’s Disease	A disorder of the central nervous system, commonly seen as uncontrollable tremor or shaking.
Personal Care	Refers to issues such as grooming, bathing, continence, dressing, taking medication nutrition, management of money and the like.
Pillaging	An obsessive behavior whereby a person takes things, often of little or no value, that belong to someone else, often thinking it is hers.
Power of Attorney	See DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY.
Pre-Need	See FUNERAL PRE PLANNING.
Probate	The disclosure and settlement of deceased person’s estate whereby the county government accounts for and validates the legitimacy of any advance directive or handles the distribution of one’s assets according to state law.

Quality Care	Term used to describe a level of care and services provided to a person in a dignified, gentle and caring manner.

Reassurance	Encouragement often provided to a person as a means to relieve fear, anxiety, tension, and confusion that can result from deteriorating cognitive abilities.
Reinforcement	The use of praise, encouragement and repetition to help preserve a person’s memory, capabilities, and level of self-confidence.
Repetitive Behaviors	The constant repeating of questions, concerns or physical behaviors, common in people with dementia.
Respite	A rejuvenating break or time away from the constant demands on a person providing caregiver services.
Respite Care	Temporary caregiver services that provide a primary caregiver with short-term relief (e.g., in-home assistance, short nursing home stays, adult day care).
Restraints	Devices used to restrict and control a person’s movement for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the person and those around them.
Retirement Living	Independent living provided in a community dedicated to providing carefree and secure living for senior citizens.
Rigidity	Tightness or increase in muscle tone at rest – stiffness.

Senior Centers	Facilities offering supervised recreational, educational and social programs for people ages 55 and older.
Senior Managed Care	Health care services offered by an insurance company or HMO specific to the needs of senior citizens.
Sequencing	Refers to doing things or completing tasks in a logical, predictable order.
Shadowing	Behavior commonly associated with following, mimicking, and interrupting people.
Skilled Nursing Care	A residential care setting providing a level of care that includes ongoing more advanced medical or nursing services including the needs of someone confined to a bed or wheelchair.
Social HMO	An emerging Age in Place alternative currently in the pilot or test stage providing various social services, housekeeping, medical, visiting nurses, transportation, home delivered meals and skilled services that enable a person to remain living at home.
Social Security	Services provided by the federal government that include retirement benefits, survivor benefits, Medicare, Disability and Family benefits to elderly or disabled people.
Social Worker	Someone trained and dedicated to the care and well being of an elderly person or other clientele.
Special Care Unit	Designated areas or units within a residential care facility or nursing home providing care to address a specific need such as Dementia or other advanced medical conditions.
Stages	Progression of a disease defined by levels or periods of severity: early, mild, moderate, or severe.
Sundowning	An unsettled behavior or agitation that commonly occurs in the late afternoon or early evening.
Support Group	Facilitated gathering of family, friends, or others with a common interest, often a loved one suffering from a common illness, for the purpose of discussing issues related to the illness, and sharing hope, strength and experience.
Supplemental Health Insurance	Insurance that pays towards approved services that are not covered or only partially covered by a primary insurance.

Trust	A legal entity established to hold ownership of property and assets on behalf of a personal or family estate.
Trustee	The individual or bank managing the assets of the living trust.

Unified Credit	Refers to a lump sum amount that can be transferred to another person tax-free.

Validation	Giving approval to other’s thoughts and emotion by sharing questions, concerns and experiences with them to help them through difficult times.

Wandering	A behavior commonly associated with dementia whereby people stray from a familiar surrounding and often become lost.
Wants	Things that people have become accustomed to and tend to desire but that are not critical to one’s health, well-being and safety.
Will	A legal document that names a person to manage the estate according to the document and addresses the desired disposition of someone’s accumulated wealth and personal items.