Medical facilities that provide patients with acute care for extended inpatient stays (defined by federal statute as an average of 25 days or more). The health care objective is stabilization of physical condition, medical recovery, and return to home.

Medical and personal care services rendered to patients who are not in an acute phase of illness but chronically ill, aged, or disabled and generally residing in a nursing home or assisted living facility. Sometimes home health care is provided on a long-term basis, and this may be referred to as LTC . Patients require help with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, continence, dressing, eating, mobility, transferring in and out of bed or a chair, using the toilet, and walking. Most long-term care is custodial care, and Medicare does not pay for this type of care if this is the only kind of care the patient needs.

Health care facility that offers extended nursing care and subacute care services to resident patients whose illness does not require acute care. To participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs, such a facility must be certified as a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or other nursing facility (NF).

1. Facility that treats patients not in an acute phase of illness but who need medical and nursing services not available in nursing homes (e.g., rehabilitation hospital). 2. In the Medicare program, this type of facility is called a short-term acute care hospital . Average inpatient stay is greater than 25 days. Also called long-term hospital and long-term acute care hospital .

Advocate (supporter) for nursing home and assisted living facility residents who investigate and work to resolve problems between residents and nursing homes or assisted living facilities. This individual monitors federal and state regulations that pertain to long-term care facilities, provide information to the public about the elderly in facilities, and train volunteers to help with this program. Also called ombudsman . See ombudsman .

Program that is federally authorized by Title III of the Older Americans Act. See long-term care ombudsman .

Condition in which an insured employee suffers a nonoccupational accident or illness and is not able to perform the duties of his or her occupation for an extended period of time.

Type of disability income insurance that has a provision to pay benefits to a covered disabled person as long as he or she remains disabled, up to a specified period exceeding 2 years. This kind of insurance may be purchased by an employer or an individual. Also called long-term disability income insurance .