The Commission on Chronic Illness founded to identify what makes a "chronic" illness.
Date: 1956
In particular, the commission defines chronic illness as all "impairments" or "deviations from normal" that include one or more of the following: permanency, residual disability, required rehabilitation, or a long period of supervision and care.
One of the results of this is a renewed focus on care in nursing homes, as standards are created to support improved care. At this point, 40%-60% of people in nursing homes are people living in poverty.