| A | B |
|---|
| accreditation | Process whereby a professional association or nongovernmental agency grants recognition to an institution or agency for demonstrated ability in a special area of practice |
| certification | Process in which an individual or institution, agency, or educational program is evaluated and regocnized as meeting certain predetermined standards. |
| diagnosis-related groups (DRG) | System that classifies patients by age, diagnoses, and surgical categories; used to predict the use of hospital resources, including the length of stay. |
| home health care | Services that enable individuals of all ages to remain in the comfort and security of their homes while receiving health care. |
| Medicaid | A federally funded, state-operated program of medical assistance to people with low income; authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act. |
| Medicare | A federally funded national health insurance for certain people older than 65 years of age. |
| activities of daily living (ADLs) | Those activities of daily life, such as toileting, bathing, dressing, and grooming, that promote maintenance of functional abilities and independence in the environment. |
| adult daycare | A commuinty-based program designed to meet the needs of functionally or cognitively impaired adults through an individualized plan of care. |
| assisted living | Residential care whereby the adult patient rents a small one-bedroom or studio apartment and can receive personal care services, for example, for bathing, dressing, eating, etc. |
| continuing care retirement community (CCRC) | Offers complete range of housing and health care accommodations from independent to 24-hour skilled nursing care |
| functional assessment | The assessment of the functional status of the patient, which is the ability of an individual to perform normal, expected, or required activities of daily living. |
| long-term care | The range of services-physical, psychosocial, spiritual, social, and economic-needed to help people attain, maintain, and regain their optimum level functioning. |
| minimum data set (MDS) | A part of the patient assessment instrument (OAI) that incorporates many of the same assessment factors as a functional asssessment tool and requires input from nursing and social services within a specific time frame. |
| Omnibus Budget REconciliation Act (OBRA) | Federal legislation that mandates specific standards governing the care of older adults in U.S. nursing facilities and prohibits routine use of safety reminder devices (SRDs; restraints) in nursing homes. |
| palliative care | Designed to relieve pain and distress and to control the signs and symptoms of disease; not designed to produce a cure. |
| quality of life | A measure of the optimum energy that endows a person with the power to cope successfully with the full range of challenges encountered in the real world. |
| resident assessment instrument (RAI) | A comprehensive tool that includes the minimum data set, resident assessment protocols, and guidelines for functional assessment of the resident. |
| residential care | A care setting for older adults, providing a wide range of services, such as assisted living and continuing care. |
| restorative nursing care | Basic concepts of physical therapy for maintenance of functional mobility and physical activity. |
| skilled nursing facilities | Houses a subacute unit with a stronger rehabilitative focus and shorter length of stay than a long-term facility. |
| subacute unit | Institutional setting that provides a less expensive alternative to acute care; a bridge between acute care and long-term care. |
