In recent weeks, I have written about the importance of preparing for “long term care” needs.  Before going further, I need to address what that term means. 

Long term care is not about hospitalization. In fact, it is not really even about medical care.  It is about the inability to provide for one’s basic personal needs, often called “activities of daily living”, because of on-going health challenges.  Examples of “activities of daily living” include bathing, dressing, and eating.