Get Sick Along The Way -- Long Term Care is care you need when you are no longer able to perform 2 out of the 6 following activities of daily living independently by yourself. Long term care may also include the supervision you might need due to a severe cognitive impairment (such as Alzheimer's disease).
- Eating
- Dressing
- Bathing
- Transferring from bed to chair
- Using a Toilet
- Continence
This type of care is not intended to cure you. It is care you most likely will need for the rest of your life. You can receive this care in your own home, a nursing home, or another type of long term care facility, such as an assisted living facility. It is not the care you receive in a hospital, after an injury or an illness. That is acute care, something you receive to get yourself better, so you can resume living independently. Long term care, on the other hand, represents a long term chronic condition.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services www.longtermcare.gov
- 70% of people turning age 65 can expect to use some form of long-term care during their remaining years.
- Women not only live longer than men, they live longer receiving care than men by more than a year.
- 20% of those, age 65 and older, will need care for more than 5 years.
Long term care is not something cured with a pill or new technology. It requires another human being to care for you. The reason long term care costs are expected to rise significantly is that more people are entering older ages than will be available to care for them. Here is an example of the types of care people may need:
Home Health Care
- Homemaker services
- Personal Care
- Nursing services
- RN
- LPN
- Health Care Aide
- Personal Care Aide
- Therapy Services
- Speech
- Respiratory
- Physical
Adult Day Care
- Community Day Care Services
- Part time care in a group setting
- Socialization
Assisted Living
- Apartment-like Conditions
- Levels of Care
- Personal Care Assistance
- Non-skilled Care Services
Nursing Care
- Institutional Care Facility
- Levels of Care
- Skilled Care
- Intermediate Care
- Custodial Care
Hospice Care
- End of life care for the Terminally Ill
- Levels of Care
- Inpatient Facility Care
- In-Home Care