Aid and Attendance
Aid and Attendance is a tax free benefit for wartime veterans and their surviving spouses, who are 65 years old and older. This benefit is in addition to your monthly pension, and you may qualify for Aid and Attendance benefits even if you do not currently get a pension due to excessive income. This benefit was designed to provide financial assistance to veterans and their spouses who are in need of long term care, who are blind, and for those who are housebound. This benefit is often overlooked by healthy veterans who have a sick spouse. You can apply for Aid and Attendance benefits by writing your VA regional office. As of the Fall 2015, quailified veterans can recieve up to $1788 per month, surviving spouses can recieve up to $1149 per month, two married veterans can recieve $2837, and a veteran and spouse who both qualify could recieve up tp $2120 per month.
Assisted living
Defined as a person's need for assistance with atleast one of the activities associated with daily living. Personal assistance is provided for eating, bathing, dressing, and all other common activities in a residential setting.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
A campus of assisted living, independent living, and private homes offering varying degrees of care. Residents can get different degrees of assistance while staying in the same community. Often requires a buy in fee.
Home Health Care
Health care services that occur inside your home. It is often mistakenly referred to as Homecare; however, Homecare refers to non-medical services also. In order to qualify, you must be unable to leave your home in order to get care or you must get your insurance and your doctor must agree that your home is the best place for you to recieve care.
Hospice Care
A facility that offers supportive care to people who are in the final stages of a terminal illness, with a focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than a cure. Hospice care also helps relieve some of the stress that is on family members.
Independent Living
Communities that offer an independent lifestyle with the benefits of a full service community, which offer housekeeping, transportation, meals in a restaurant setting, and various social activities. Independent living may offer wellness programs, but no care options.
Memory Care
A distinct form of long term care that specifically caters to meet the needs of the Alzheimer, dementia, or memory impaired adult. These services may be provided by an assisted living, skilled nursing, or a residential community.
Residential Care
Typically a single family home offering care and assistance with daily living activities.
Respite Care
A facility outside the home that provides temporary care for children or adults with special needs. It provides temporary relief for friends and family members caring for loved ones.
Skilled Nursing
Refers to a patients need of care and treatment that can only be administered by a licensed nurse. Skilled nurses observe, manage,and evaluate your care. Rehabilitation, speech therapy, tube feeding, occupational therapy, complex wound dressings, and physcal therapy are all examples of skilled nursing.
Sundowner Syndrome
A term that describes a form of confusion that occurs when the sun begins to set. Sundowner syndrome is common for people suffering from cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzhiemers. The onset of dusk, with fading light and increasing shadows, can trigger aggression, confusion, anxiety, agitation, and drowsiness for those with dementia or Alzhiemers.