Long Term Care
What Is Long-Term Care?
Long-term care is the assistance or supervision you may need when you are not able to do some of the basic “activities of daily living” (ADLs) like bathing, dressing or moving from a bed to a chair. You might need assistance with ADLs if you suffer from an injury like a broken hip, an illness, a stroke or from advanced age and frailty. Other people may need long-term care because of mental deterioration, called “cognitive impairment” that can be caused by Alzheimer’s Disease, other mental illness or brain disorders.
Long-term care is sometimes called “custodial care” or “personal care.” Formal long-term care (the kind of care you must pay for) is most often provided by professional skilled and unskilled workers. Unskilled workers are often supervised by skilled medical personnel such as registered nurses. Informal long-term care is frequently provided by unpaid family members and friends. Long-term care services can be provided in your own home or in a community program like an Adult Day Care Center, in an assisted living facility licensed as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), or in a nursing home. Long-term care is not necessarily “long term.” For instance, about half of all nursing home stays last 6 months or less. Some people only need long-term care for a few months, for example, while recovering at home from a broken hip, while others may need care for the rest of their life.