September 17, 2026

Senior Living Terms to Know

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

The doctor says your 70-year-old mother is “exhibiting symptoms consistent with moderate-stage Alzheimer’s disease, with progressive cognitive and functional decline and comorbid diabetes and hypertension.”

The caseworker recommends “a comprehensive functional assessment to determine whether she can age in place with in-home support or should transition to a continuing care retirement community offering person-centered dementia care, with her resident care plan updated as her activities of daily living needs change.”

Huh?

Caring for an aging loved one isn’t easy to begin with, but sometimes talking to healthcare professionals can feel like they’re speaking an entirely different language.

Like anyone who’s immersed in an industry, the jargon of senior care becomes second nature to people who work in the profession. They may forget others don’t always know the terms they use in day-to-day interactions with patients and caregivers.

To help you better navigate the world of elder care, here are some commonly used senior care terms explained:

Huh?

Caring for an aging loved one isn’t easy to begin with, but sometimes talking to healthcare professionals can feel like they’re speaking an entirely different language.

To help you better navigate the world of elder care, here are some commonly used senior care terms explained:

Senior Living Terms

Activities of daily living: You’ll hear this term used when discussing a person’s capabilities. It describes tasks everyone needs to perform on a daily basis for their physical health and well-being, including taking care of personal hygiene, dressing, bathing and eating.

Ambulatory: The ability to walk or move around, independently or with the assistance of a walker or cane. Ambulatory seniors are not bedridden.

Adult day services: These structured programs are designed to provide care and companionship on an outpatient basis. They offer a variety of socially, emotionally and physically stimulating activities designed to meet the needs and interests of adults.

Aging in place: Remaining at home, or in a senior living community, even as healthcare needs change. Aging in place often includes adapting familiar environments to accommodate emerging needs.

Alzheimer’s: Short for Alzheimer’s Disease, Alzheimer’s is a medical diagnosis that only a doctor can make. The Alzheimer’s Association defines it as “a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.” It is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases.

Assisted living: One of the many types of senior care settings, assisted living is an environment where seniors can receive services such as meals, laundry, housekeeping, assistance with activities of daily living and medication management, while maintaining a level of independence. Generally, assisted living facilities are licensed and regulated by each state.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities: This is a special type of community offering varying levels of care to accommodate residents as their needs evolve and potentially become greater. Such communities often encompass independent living accommodations, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing care. As a senior's health needs and abilities change, they can continue to receive care in the same community.

Dementia: Rather than a specific disease with a single cause, “dementia” is an overall term that describes a range of symptoms associated witha decline in memory or other thinking skills — all of which are severe enough to hinder a person’s ability to manage daily life.

Hospice care: This kind of palliative care is for terminally ill people, allowing them to live as fully and comfortably as possible. By focusing on the spiritual, mental and physical needs of the patient, the goal of hospice care is to improve a patient’s quality of life during the final stages.

Independent living: In this kind of senior living option, people live independently in their own homes, such as an apartment or small bungalow. The community provides supportive services like yard care, meals in a common dining area, social activities, housekeeping, transportation and more. Or, the community may offer no services for seniors who are totally independent.

Living will: A legal document that spells out how an individual wants to be treated in the event they cannot make their own decisions regarding emergency treatment. They can say which medical treatments they want, which treatments to avoid and the conditions under which each choice applies.

Palliative care: A form of specialized medical care that focuses on providing relief from pain and symptoms of a serious illness. It may be offered to patients of any age with a serious or life-threatening illness.

Person-centered care: You’ll hear this phrase used in reference to senior living arrangements where residents receive care specific to their individual needs. The purpose of person-centered care is to allow people to make as many decisions for themselves as possible, depending on their individual ability.

Power of attorney: This legal document designates a specific person to make decisions about a senior’s affairs in the event that they become physically or mentally incapacitated.

Private duty care: A broad term for one-on-one care that may include nonmedical personal care or private-duty nursing, often provided in the home. Nonmedical care assists with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, cooking meals and housekeeping. Private-duty nursing is skilled medical care provided by a licensed nurse, usually in-home. Payment options and licensing requirements vary.

Resident care plan: This written document details the level of care and types of services a resident in a senior living community needs on a daily basis.

Respite care: Aimed at helping relieve caregiver stress, respite care can occur in a senior’s home or at a senior living community. Skilled caregivers relieve the senior’s usual caregiver so that person can run errands, go to appointments or just relax for a set amount of time. Respite care can last hours, days or longer depending on type of care and specific needs.

Sandwich generation: Those who are caring for their children and their aging parents at the same time.

Universal design: A practice and philosophy that focuses on creating buildings, products and places that are accessible to all, including seniors, people with disabilities and people without disabilities.

_{The above content is shared for educational and informational purposes only.}