What is Long Term Care?

Care received either at home or within a facility, that provides assistance with:

• Activities of Daily Living (ADL), such as bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring
  And/Or
• Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), such as shopping, bill paying, and cooking

Long Term Care is care designed to allow a person to maintain their level of functioning despite physical and mental factors that have limited their abilities to care for themselves. It enables someone to maintain his or her present level of functioning.

Long Term Care is classified into three levels of care.

• Skilled Nursing Care- Nursing and rehabilitative care provided by or under the direction of skilled medical personnel - available 24-hours a day & ordered by a physician under a treatment plan. Can be either in a facility setting or at-home. Medicare and Medicaid both have their own definitions of “Skilled Nursing Care" which do not necessarily match those found in LTC policies.
  

• Intermediate Care- Assistance needed for stable conditions that require daily, but not 24-hour, nursing supervision. Such care is ordered by a physician and supervised by registered nurses. It is less specialized than skilled nursing care, often involves more personal care, and is generally needed for a long period of time.

• Custodial Care- Services that can be given safely and reasonably by a non-medical person, designed mainly to assist with ADLs, including bathing, eating, dressing and other routine activities.

page 3