Retirement Home Beacon
A calm hub about care homes, home care and how to pay for them — every page is assembled from official regulators and public bodies, and always links back to them. Where to verify beats what to choose: no advice, no advertising, just the sourced map.
Glossary
See all →Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is the Australian Government agency responsible for aged care regulation.
Read → glossaryAllocation personnalisée d'autonomie
Allocation personnalisée d'autonomie (APA) is a French benefit for people aged 60 and over assessed at GIR 1 to 4 loss of autonomy, paid by the
Read → glossaryActivities of daily living
Activities of daily living (ADL) are the basic self-care tasks most healthy people can perform without help, including bathing, dressing, toileting,
Read → glossaryAide sociale à l'hébergement
Aide sociale à l'hébergement (ASH) is a French département-level financial aid that covers the difference between the accommodation fee charged by an
Read → glossaryAssisted living
Assisted living is a US housing option for older adults who need help with tasks such as dressing, bathing, eating and toileting but not the intensive
Read → glossaryAttendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance is a UK benefit, not means-tested, for people who have reached State Pension age and have a physical or mental disability, or
Read → glossaryAdvance care planning
Advance care planning is a voluntary, person-centred process of discussion between an individual and their care providers about preferences and
Read → glossaryCare home
Care home is the umbrella term used in England for residential settings providing accommodation and personal care, such as help with washing, dressing
Read → glossaryCare Inspectorate Wales
Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) is the independent regulator of social care and childcare in Wales, registering and inspecting services on behalf of
Read → glossaryCare Inspectorate (Scotland)
The Care Inspectorate is Scotland's national assurance and improvement support body for social care services and social work.
Read → glossaryCare needs assessment
A care needs assessment is a free evaluation, carried out by a local council in England, of how someone manages everyday tasks such as washing, dressing and cooking.
Read → glossaryCare plan
A care and support plan sets out the help a person will receive after a council carries out a needs assessment, whether for someone who needs care or
Read → glossaryContinuing care retirement community
A continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is a US community living arrangement, typically on a single campus, offering housing, health care and
Read → glossaryCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the US federal agency that created the Five-Star Quality Rating System, used on the Nursing Home
Read → glossaryCNSA
Caisse nationale de solidarité pour l'autonomie (CNSA) is the French public body, established in 2004, that finances and steers national policy
Read → glossaryCare Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.
Read → glossaryDementia care
Dementia care describes the support, including in care homes, that a person with dementia needs as symptoms worsen over time.
Read → glossaryExtra care housing
Extra care housing is one form of what is collectively described in England as housing with care, alongside assisted living, retirement villages and very sheltered living.
Read → glossaryHome care
Home care, also called domiciliary care, is paid care provided in a person's own home rather than a care home, ranging from an hour a week to live-in,
Read → glossaryHospital discharge
Hospital discharge covers the process of leaving hospital and the care and support that follows, as organised by the NHS in England.
Read → glossaryImserso
Imserso (Instituto de Mayores y Servicios Sociales) is a Spanish public body managing Social Security's complementary social services for older people
Read → glossaryIndependent living
Independent living describes a US senior housing model for active adults, typically over 60, who can care for themselves.
Read → glossaryInspection report
An inspection report is CQC's published assessment of a health or social care service in England.
Read → glossaryLasting power of attorney
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document, valid in England and Wales, letting a person (the donor) appoint attorneys to make decisions on
Read → glossaryMeans test
A means test (financial assessment) decides whether a local council in England helps pay towards someone's social care, based on income, savings,
Read → glossaryMedicaid
Medicaid is a joint US federal-state program and the nation's primary payer for long-term care services, covering more than 30% of the $597.6 billion
Read → glossaryMedicare
In the United States, Medicare does not pay for long-term care.
Read → glossaryNHS Continuing Healthcare
NHS continuing healthcare (NHS CHC) is free health and social care in England, arranged and funded by the NHS for adults whose needs are primarily health-related.
Read → glossaryNursing home
A nursing home, also called a skilled nursing facility, is a US residential facility offering 24-hour nursing supervision alongside personal care,
Read → glossaryPalliative care
Palliative care, as defined by the World Health Organization, is an approach that improves quality of life for patients — adults and children — and
Read → glossaryPersonal care
Personal care is a legally defined regulated activity in England, set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
Read → glossaryRetirement village
In New South Wales, Australia, a retirement village is a form of housing for older residents governed by specific tenancy and contract rules, with
Read → glossaryRespite care
Respite care lets a carer take a break while the person they look after is cared for by someone else, helping prevent exhaustion.
Read → glossarySafeguarding
Safeguarding covers protecting adults from abuse and neglect, which the NHS notes can occur anywhere and is usually carried out by someone the person
Read → glossarySelf-funder
A self-funder in England is someone not entitled to council help with care costs because their savings exceed the upper capital limit (£23,250) or,
Read → glossarySheltered housing
Sheltered housing in England usually consists of self-contained flats or bungalows, bought or rented, with an emergency alarm system, a warden living
Read → glossarySkilled nursing facility
A skilled nursing facility (SNF) is a US facility staffed and equipped to treat, manage and evaluate a patient's condition, typically part of a
Read → glossaryTop-up fees
Top-up fees (or 'top ups') are additional payments made by a person or a third party in England when someone in local-authority-funded care chooses
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