# 17.3101 Definitions.
For the purposes of the HISA benefits program (§§ 17.3100 through 17.3130):
*Access to essential lavatory and sanitary facilities* means having normal use of the standard structural components of those facilities.
*Access to the home* means the ability of the beneficiary to enter and exit the home and to maneuver within the home to at least one bedroom and essential lavatory and sanitary facilities.
*Beneficiary* means a veteran or servicemember who is awarded or who is eligible to receive HISA benefits.
*Essential lavatory and sanitary facilities* means one bathroom equipped with a toilet and a shower or bath, one kitchen, and one laundry facility.
*HISA benefits* means a monetary payment by VA to be used for improvements and structural alterations to the home of a beneficiary in accordance with §§ 17.3100 through 17.3130.
*Home* means the primary place where the beneficiary resides or, in the case of a servicemember, where the beneficiary intends to reside after discharge from service.
*Improvement or structural alteration* means a modification to a home or to an existing feature or fixture of a home, including repairs to or replacement of previously improved or altered features or fixtures.
*Undergoing medical discharge* means that a servicemember has been found unfit for duty due to a medical condition by their Service's Physical Evaluation Board, and a date of medical discharge has been issued.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1717)