Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
A term that refers to daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring out of a bed or chair, and walking. Ability to do ADLs is one of the criteria used in assessing for residential and community-based care.
Advanced Care Planning
The process of planning, in advance, for personal and financial care should one be unable to make decisions on their own behalf.
A grief reaction that occurs in anticipation of an impending death. While this term is usually used in connection with spouses, other people and even the dying can experience anticipatory grief themselves. Anticipatory grief can be just as painful as the actual death of the person.
Assisted living residences provide housing and a range of supportive services, including personalized assistance, for seniors and people with disabilities who can live independently but require regular unscheduled help with day-to-day activities.
Bereavement is a state of grieving loss through death. Families and close friends go through this state for considerable periods of time after the death of an individual, and often require support during this difficult time of separation and grieving.
An individualized action plan that takes into account the client’s unique needs and the goals of care.
Any person who provides care for the physical and emotional needs of a family member or friend.
The ongoing provision of medical, health, social, psychological and spiritual care services that enable people living with serious and long-lasting conditions to optimize their functional abilities and well-being.
Is a reversible, acute condition where there are delusions, illusions, sleep disturbances, disorientation to time, place or person and memory impairment. Delirium is different from dementia in that it is a temporary state lasting a short time, whereas dementia is often permanent.
The medical term for a group of symptoms that describe a loss of intellectual ability, including loss of vocabulary, abstract thinking, judgement, memory, and physical coordination.
A reversible psychological state characterized by an inability to concentrate, difficulty sleeping, feeling of hopelessness, fatigue, the “blues” and guilt.
A Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR) is a legal document instructing medical professionals not to revive a patient in a condition, such as cardiac or pulmonary failure, who cannot be saved without invasive and continuous medical treatment. It is put in place only if there is no reasonable probability of recovery from the illness.
The term used for the range of clinical and support services appropriate for dying people and their families. The goal of end-of-life care is the same regardless of the setting – to ensure the best possible quality of life for dying people and their families.
A multi-faceted response to loss. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social and philosophical dimensions. Common to human experience is the death of a loved one, whether it be of a friend, a family member, or other close companion. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement often refers to the state of loss, and grief to the reaction to loss.
A range of supportive services in the home, from intensive medical support to assistance with activities of daily living to housekeeping. Home care can include nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other rehabilitation services.
Hospice services involve palliative rather than curative treatments that aim to comfort the person who is dying and their family. It involves professional medical care, advanced pain and symptom relief, and emotional, spiritual and practical support based on the patient’s wishes and family’s needs. The term hospice is also often used to refer to a home-like place where people go in the last few weeks or months of life.
Long-Term Care Facility
Often referred to as Complex Care or Extended Care Homes, provide a higher level of care and supervision than Assisted Living Residences. Designed for those who require ongoing 24-hour supervision, personal nursing care and/or treatment by skilled nursing staff.
For family and friends, the grieving period after the death of an individual is a time of emotional healing. Mourning is an active state, where one consciously attempts to work through the often confusing feelings of grief.
The specialized care for people who are dying – care aimed at alleviating suffering (physical, emotional, psycholosocial or spiritual), rather than curing. The term “palliative care” is generally used in association with people who have an active, progressive and advanced disease, with little or no prospect of cure.
Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA):
Pain medication given through an IV, or epidural catheter. Patients control the dose of medication they take, depending on how much is needed to control the pain. PCA is usually used for chronic pain such as that due to cancer.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a document that appoints a person called an “attorney” to make financial and legal decisions for another. An enduring power of attorney allows the “attorney” to make the necessary financial and legal decisions for another in case of mental Incapacity because of age, accident or illness.
The representation Agreement Act allows a person to appoint someone as their legal representative to handle financial, legal, personal care and health care decisions, if the appointee is unable to make them on their own. The document is called a representation agreement, and it creates a contract between the person and their representative.
There are two types. One is known as a Section 7 limited agreement to cover straightforward, everyday decisions. The other is a Section 9 general agreement to deal with complex legal, personal care and health care matters.
Services that provide a break, a temporary relief for caregivers. These can be delivered in the home or in a short-stay facility. Respite Care enables caregivers to achieve respite.
A dimension of health that goes beyond the absence of illness, disease and/or disability. It includes social, emotional and spiritual aspects of health that are central to a person’s quality of life.
SECOND STORY TREASURES THRIFT STORE
Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Donations of gently used clothing and household items may be dropped off:
Monday, 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Tuesday - Friday, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday, 9:00 am - 3:30 pm