A Guide to Senior Living Terms and Definitions

If you’ve started to research senior living options, you’ve probably already encountered a lot of unfamiliar jargon and language. Senior living has changed tremendously since the 20th century standard of “nursing homes” – and with it, so too has the language to describe the options available to you. 

Knowing the right terms can inform your search and empower you to make the best decision and plan for yourself or someone you love.

Bookmark this page to refer back to as you research your options. Here are some of the most common senior living terms you’ll encounter: 

Types of Senior Living

• Assisted Living: Assisted living communities offer the same benefits as independent living, including access to a range of amenities and programs. It also provides support for activities of daily living (ADLs), such as dressing, bathing and eating. People may consider assisted living when they find that they need extra support to manage their health and well-being. 

• Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC): A continuing care retirement community is another term used for a Life Plan Community. It offers multiple levels of living, such as independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory support all within the same community campus.  

• Home Health Aide: A home health aide offers support at home and can help you if you want to age in place. They can fill a variety of functions and roles, including support with activities of daily living, such as meal preparation and bathing. 

• In-Home Care: In-home care means you get support to remain in your home, often from a home health aide and other professionals. For example, a home health aide might support you with meal preparation, and a dog walker might tend to your pets. 

• Independent Living: Independent senior living offers the same independent lifestyle you enjoy at home but with the added benefit of a community setting where you can access a range of programs and amenities. Independent living also typically boasts a maintenance-free lifestyle, a wide variety of meal options and modern, convenient residences designed to help you live life as fully and independently as possible. 

• Life Plan Community: A Life Plan Community, sometimes called a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), incorporates a variety of levels of living into one community. This allows residents to transition from one level of living to another as their needs change. Typically, a person moves to an independent living residence, knowing that if needed, assisted living or memory support is available to them right on campus. Learn which type of community is right for you. 

• Memory Support: Memory support, sometimes called memory care in some communities, caters to the unique needs of people living with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia and cognitive impairments. Look for communities that offer personalized support, a safe and supportive community, a chance to socialize and peace of mind.  

• Nonprofit Communities: Across the spectrum of senior living options, there are nonprofit and for-profit providers. Nonprofit organizations do not need to focus on providing a return to shareholders and therefore can reinvest financial resources back into their communities. In addition, some nonprofit organizations offer benevolent support that provides financial support to residents who outlive their resources. HumanGood communities are nonprofit communities and most offer benevolent support.

• Nursing Care: Nursing care provides nursing support for people with complex medical needs. It may be a short-term form of care or a longer-term arrangement for people with chronic or progressive medical conditions. 

• Nursing Home: This is a problematic term that many communities have phased out when describing senior living. People used to use it as a catchall for senior living, but the term is misleading because most senior living doesn’t involve nursing. 

• Post-Acute Care: Post-acute care, which is similar to short-term rehabilitation, provides care for a person recovering from a serious medical issue, such as a stroke, broken hip or heart attack. Post-acute care provides recovery and rehabilitation, under the supervision of a nursing team, for those who are not ready to go straight from a hospital to home.

• Short-Term Rehabilitation: Short-term rehabilitation offers support as a person recovers from an injury or surgery. It often includes nursing care and physical, occupational, or speech therapy to improve quality of life and expedite healing. The goal is to help someone return to their home in good health. 

• Skilled Nursing Facility: Skilled Nursing Facilities offer 24/7 nursing care. They are primarily providing post-acute rehabilitative care designed to help someone recover from a health event and return to their home. However, Skilled Nursing Facilities can also provide long-term care for those with conditions necessitating 24/7 nursing care.

• 55+ active adult communities: These are communities that cater to older adults and offer independent living homes. Usually a maintenance-free lifestyle and a campus with common spaces and amenities is included. Unlike Life Plan Communities, no care options are available on campus.  

  

Lifestyle-Related Terms 

• Active Retirement: Remaining active during retirement has numerous different meanings but can include physical, intellectual and social activity. For most people, an active retirement includes all three, scaled to their ability levels, preferences and interests. 

• Aging in Place: This means remaining in your home as you age.

• Destination Retirement: This means retiring in a vacation destination, often far away from where you spent your career or much of your life. 

• Encore Career: This is a new career in retirement or after a person leaves their primary career. Sometimes, it’s in an entirely new field and may include consulting, part-time work, freelancing or starting a new business.  

• Healthy Aging: Healthy aging can mean many different things to different people. It includes both physical and mental health, with the goal of maximizing a person’s current and long-term well-being.  

• Maintenance-Free Living: Maintenance-free living means that a person doesn’t have to devote time or mental energy to the daily tasks of home and lifestyle maintenance, such as landscaping, home repairs and housekeeping. Different communities offer different amenities and services – be sure to ask what is included in your monthly fee.

• Rightsize/Downsize: This means adjusting your living situation to meet your current needs — often by moving to a smaller space. Rightsizing can help you build a nest egg from selling your home and may make your home easier to manage. Many people find that a smaller, more efficient home reduces housework, clutter, and stress. 

Health and Wellness Terms

• Adult Day Care: Adult day care provides supportive, enriching care for adults who cannot safely be alone. This can help caregivers work, go to school, rest or care for children. This is daytime care, not residential or overnight support. 

• Brain Health: This refers to mental health and cognitive fitness. People with good brain health have fewer mental health symptoms and better cognition. Lifestyle factors can greatly influence brain health. 

• Caregiver: Caregivers provide care to another person. This care can be informal, such as when a family caregiver supports their spouse or child. It can also be a formalized, paid arrangement. 

• Caregiver Burnout: Caregiver burnout is a collection of symptoms caregivers experience when their caregiving demands outpace their resources. They may feel tired, depressed or overwhelmed and may experience physical and mental health issues. 

• Caregiver Depression: Depression is a collection of mental and physical health symptoms that often cause hopelessness and difficulty enjoying life. Caregivers have a higher risk of depression, especially when they don’t have adequate support for their caregiver role. 

• Fall Prevention: Falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults. Fall prevention strategies reduce the risk of falls. An example strategy is removing tripping hazards, such as loose rugs. They can also reduce the severity of potential falls — for example, by replacing hard flooring with softer surfaces. 

• Respite Care: Respite care is short-term care — often though not always in a residential setting — to give caregivers a break to recover from burnout.  

• Sandwich Generation: The sandwich generation is made up of people who are caring for children and aging parents or other family members. 

• Second Shift: The second shift refers to another shift of work after paid work – often caring for children, aging parents or both. In sociology, it’s widely understood that this second shift of labor falls disproportionately on women. 

• Social Connections: Social connections are the web of relationships we weave. They include long-term partnerships and marriages, close friendships, work acquaintances, and even brief acquaintanceships with the barista at the local coffee shop. A wide network of social connections can improve health, and all relationships really do matter. 

• Social Fitness: Social fitness is a measure of how many social connections a person has, how nourishing those connections are and the skills they have to sustain and build social connections. 

Senior Living Costs

• All-Inclusive: In an all-inclusive community, services and amenities – usually including meals, lodging, programming and housekeeping – are included under a single price tag. Ask for a list of specific services included in the price. 

• Contracts: Senior living communities usually use contracts to outline the duties and privileges of residents as well as the community they live in. This is a legally binding agreement signed “for consideration,” which means each party gets something from the contract. If one party doesn’t follow their contractual duties, the contract may be voided. Because it’s a legal document, it’s important to read it carefully and, if appropriate, to ask a lawyer to review it. 

• Entrance Fee: An entrance fee is a lump sum you pay when entering a senior living community. Similar to a down payment on a home, it can offset or reduce the monthly costs of senior living. Whether or not an entrance fee is required depends on the community and your contract.

• Monthly Fees: Similar to rent, monthly fees cover the costs of senior living and may be lower when you pay a larger entrance fee. 

• Rebatable: When a fee is rebatable, you may get back a portion of your fee if you don’t use or need certain services. 

Whether you’re new to the world of senior living or have been exploring options for a while, there’s plenty to learn–and oftentimes, some myths to unlearn, too. We are here for you every step of the journey. Get more information and learn more here.