Plain-English Definitions
Senior living glossary
Not sure what a care term means? Find plain-language explanations of the words you'll hear on tours, in contracts, and when applying for help in Arizona.
- Activities of daily living (ADLs)
- The basic self-care tasks used to measure how much help a person needs: bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transferring (getting in and out of bed or a chair), and eating. Assisted living communities assess ADLs to set a resident's care level and monthly care fees.
- Aid & Attendance
- A VA pension supplement for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities. It adds a monthly, tax-free benefit that can be put toward assisted living, memory care, or in-home care. VA Aid & Attendance guide →
- ALTCS (Arizona Long Term Care System)
- Arizona's Medicaid program for long-term care, run by AHCCCS. For seniors who meet medical and financial criteria, ALTCS pays for care in contracted assisted living communities, memory care, nursing facilities, and at home. Pronounced 'ALL-tecs.' What is ALTCS? →
- Assisted living center
- An Arizona-licensed assisted living community serving 11 or more residents. Some offer apartments, shared dining, activities, and transportation. Services and pricing vary, so ask what is included in rent and what costs extra. Assisted living in the East Valley →
- Assisted living home
- An Arizona-licensed assisted living residence serving 10 or fewer residents, often called a group home or residential care home. A smaller setting does not guarantee more staff or an all-inclusive price. Ask about staffing on each shift and what the quote covers. Group home vs. assisted living →
- AZDHS (Arizona Department of Health Services)
- The state agency that licenses and inspects every assisted living facility in Arizona. Its inspection reports, complaint investigations, and enforcement actions are public records searchable online. How to check a facility's record →
- Care level
- A community's way of grouping care needs to set a fee, often using numbered levels or points. Levels are not standardized between communities. For planning, a step may add $400–$800 per month in the East Valley, but ask for the actual services and charges in writing.
- Community fee
- A one-time move-in charge, with an East Valley planning range of $1,500–$5,000. Ask what it covers, when payment is due, whether it is refundable, and whether the community offers any reduction. The written agreement controls the terms.
- Continuum of care
- A campus or community offering more than one kind of care, such as independent living, assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing. Ask whether changing care needs could be met on the same property and whether a suitable opening would be guaranteed.
- Directed care
- The highest of Arizona's three assisted living license levels, required for residents who can no longer direct their own care — including most people with significant dementia. If memory loss is in the picture, confirm a community holds a directed care license before you tour. Arizona licensing explained →
- Elopement
- When a resident with dementia leaves a building or campus unsupervised — the primary safety risk memory care is designed to prevent through secured doors, courtyards, and trained staff.
- Guardianship / conservatorship
- Court-appointed authority to act for someone else: a guardian handles personal decisions, while a conservator handles finances, within the court's order. An Arizona attorney can explain whether either is needed and whether existing documents offer another way to help. Who signs if a parent has dementia? →
- Home health
- Skilled services, such as nursing visits or physical therapy, delivered where a person lives. Medicare may cover eligible home health services under its rules. This differs from ongoing non-medical help with meals, bathing, or housekeeping. In-home care vs. assisted living →
- Hospice
- Comfort-focused care for people with a terminal illness. Medicare coverage has eligibility requirements, including certification of a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness follows its usual course. Hospice may visit someone in assisted living or memory care; ask what the hospice team and community each provide.
- Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
- The more complex tasks of independent life: managing medications and money, cooking, housekeeping, shopping, driving, and using the phone. Trouble with IADLs usually appears before trouble with ADLs and is often the first sign a senior needs support.
- Level of care assessment
- The evaluation a community's nurse performs before move-in (and periodically after) to score a resident's needs across ADLs, medications, mobility, and cognition. Arizona requires it, and it drives the written service plan and the monthly care fee.
- Long-term care ombudsman
- A free, state-backed advocate for residents of licensed care facilities. Ombudsmen investigate resident-rights concerns, mediate disputes with communities, and know local facilities' track records.
- Med tech (medication technician)
- A staff role involved in medication assistance or administration. Ask the community what training and authorization the person has, who handles medication questions, and what happens when help is needed overnight.
- Memory care
- Care designed for people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, often in a secured assisted living setting with structured routines and dementia-trained staff. In Arizona, verify the community's authorized directed care services. Ask about actual staffing and supervision rather than assuming the label guarantees them. Memory care in the East Valley →
- Power of attorney (POA)
- A legal document naming someone to act on another person's behalf. Financial, health care, and mental health care documents cover different decisions. The authority depends on the document's terms and applicable law. An Arizona attorney can explain what is needed and the capacity required to sign. Who signs the paperwork? →
- Private pay
- Paying for care from personal resources — income, savings, home equity, long-term care insurance, VA benefits — rather than through ALTCS. Most East Valley assisted living starts as private pay. How families pay for care →
- Respite care
- A short-term, fully supported stay in an assisted living or memory care community — typically a few days to a few weeks at a daily rate. Used to give family caregivers a break, cover recovery after a hospital stay, or trial a community before committing. Respite care in the East Valley →
- Second-person fee
- The monthly charge (roughly $800–$1,500 in the East Valley; the national median is $1,200 for assisted living, per A Place for Mom) added when a second person — usually a spouse — shares an apartment. Each person's care fees are assessed separately on top. Couples in assisted living →
- Service plan
- The written care plan Arizona requires for every assisted living resident, built from the pre-move-in assessment and updated as needs change. It spells out exactly what help the community will provide — read it before signing.
- Skilled nursing facility (SNF)
- A licensed facility providing around-the-clock nursing care, which may include rehabilitation or treatment for complex medical needs. Services vary by facility. Medicare may cover a short skilled nursing stay when its requirements are met; it does not cover ongoing custodial care simply because it is provided in a nursing home. Memory care vs. nursing home →
- Spend-down
- Using private assets to pay for care until reaching ALTCS's financial limits. Arizona looks back five years at asset transfers, so gifting money to family during a spend-down can create penalty periods — get elder law advice first. When the money runs out →
- Sundowning
- Confusion, agitation, or restlessness that becomes more noticeable in the late afternoon or evening in someone with dementia. Discuss changes with the person's clinician. When comparing care, ask how staff support residents during these hours.
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