10 Best Nursing Homes in Ronkonkoma, NY

The payment for skilled nursing care typically involves a combination of private and public funding sources, which may include personal savings or benefits from Medicaid and Medicare. The sections below offer details about payment options for skilled nursing facilities on Long Island. These payment sources may comprise private pay, Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, Medicaid, and Medicare.

Long Island seniors and their families should know that New York has tax laws that may work in their favor. New York exempts Social Security benefits from taxation, and up to $20,000 of income from retirement accounts or private pensions are deductible.^[02]

Nursing homes are regulated at the federal level by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), while assisted living and memory care facilities and nursing homes alike are regulated at the state level by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). The state carries out inspections on all these senior living facilities on behalf of the federal requirements as well as their own.

Assisted living and memory care classifications and compliance

Assisted living facilities, called Assisted Living Residences, must follow a long list of New York codes, rules, and regulations. These facilities provide personal care, 24-hour supervision, three meals a day, and case management for five or more residents. Another New York classification is the Enhanced Assisted Living (EAL) facility, which requires an additional certification and offers a higher level of care. Generally, more medical and physical assistance is needed by residents in an ERL facility.

Assisted Living Residences must have specific types of people on staff: an administrator, a case manager, and resident aides. Whereas EAL facilities must also have registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, as well as home health aides. The regulations leave it up to the facilities to determine staff to resident ratios, but they’re expected to have enough to meet the needs of all residents at all times of day or night.

Nursing home compliance

Regular certification surveys and revisits are conducted at nursing homes in New York by a team of professionals comprised of nurses, pharmacists, and life safety inspectors. The surveys involve investigating different aspects of the facility, including, but not limited to, fire protection, resident care, staff and resident interactions, and medical records. Additionally, the survey team conducts interviews with family members, residents, and staff members to gather more information about the nursing home’s performance. These measures help ensure that the nursing home is providing high-quality care and complying with state regulations and standards.

New York requires that nursing homes have an administrator’s license.^[05] While the function of providing this is the same — protecting seniors — this is different than the residential care services license for Assisted Living Residences, which include assisted living and potentially those who need memory care.^[06]

Inspection reports

The NYSDOH inspects all assisted living facilities (this includes memory care) every 18 months to make sure standards are being met. Long Islanders and their families can view the inspection reports at the NYS Health Adult Care Profiles page.

New York’s nursing home reports can be found on the same website but specifically here on this particular tab. You can search in several ways, such as by county or alphabetically. Inspections, called Certification Surveys, are conducted every 9 to 15 months, are unannounced, and can happen any time even on a holiday. This resource explains how to understand the reports, as well as complaint and enforcement summaries.

New York Department of Health contact information

Metropolitan Area Regional Office — Long Island (MARO)
320 Carleton Ave., Suite 5000
Central Islip, NY 11722
Phone: 631-851-3898

COVID-19 regulations for Long Island nursing homes

Staff at senior living facilities are currently balancing the social and emotional needs of their patients with COVID-19 best practices. The below best practices are requirements or general recommendations from the New York State Department of Health.^[07]

Long Island skilled nursing facilities are designed for serious medical and around-the-clock care. Because some of these individuals may have recently been discharged from the hospital but still need care, there is an intense focus on meeting their medical needs. Consequently, all Long Island facilities have nursing staff. Nearly all have 24-hour-awake staff and full medication management available. The vast majority have a doctor on call, as well as access to occupational therapists, physical therapists, podiatrists, and speech therapists. Beyond the focus on care, there is a strong effort to make seniors feel comfortable — most facilities provide arts and crafts, TV lounges, happy hours, and live musical performances to keep seniors in their care engaged and happy.

A Place for Mom does not make referrals to standalone nursing home facilities. However, when people are looking for nursing homes, they are frequently intending to look for assisted living or memory care facilities. It’s helpful to understand what those types of care look like on Long Island so families are seeking the appropriate level of care.

Assisted living on Long Island

These state-licensed residences offer personalized care, supervision, meals, and a range of other options to give seniors a safe and secure living space.

There is a sensitivity and dedication to individual needs, with most facilities providing vegetarian dining options, low- or no-sodium services, and medication management. Additionally, the vast majority offer day trips and outings, arts and crafts centers, and fitness classes to maintain health and overall quality of life. Should elevated health needs arise, partner facilities provide on-site nursing, and many have a doctor on call. In addition to these standard care options, there are visiting nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and podiatrists available to help minimize health problems and maximize the enjoyment of the offerings that are reflective of the broader community.

Memory care on Long Island

Long Island memory care is a subset of assisted living facilities that’s regulated by the state and intended to provide a safe and secure environment to seniors experiencing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Memory care on Long Island, for instance, incorporates memory care activities and therapies to reduce residents’ confusion and agitation. Long Island memory care also provides security features and supervision, along with trained staff to monitor your loved ones.

The provided services are focused mainly on providing comfort and meeting memory loss needs, including facilities that are secured to prevent wandering, geared to provide support to seniors with loss of directionality, and tend to diverse physical needs as well as cognitive. Several facilities are integrated into larger communities and are meant to provide minimal disruption as seniors transition through cognitive and life stages. While there are other amenities such as meals, social gatherings, and dedicated transportation at many facilities, the primary focus is on a safe and dignified care plan.

Nursing homes in the surrounding Long Island suburbs

For families and seniors interested in care located in greater Long Island, more options are available. Within a 25-mile radius of Long Island’s hub of Ronkonkoma, A Place for Mom partners with 23 additional facilities. Five of these provide standalone assisted living care, while 14 offer a combination of assisted living and memory care. Additionally, four facilities offer a combination of assisted living, independent living, and memory care. This progressive care combination is a great find for loved ones who want a variety of options available to support their loved one’s needs throughout time.

Long Island hospitals are considered to be at the top of health care facility rankings in the country by numerous surveys. Please see below for a list of the resources available for Long Island senior residents.

Getting around Long Island is made easy by many of the senior living facilities we partner with. More than half of the assisted living facilities we partner with offer free transportation to residents while 40% offer it at-cost. A large percentage of the memory care partners in A Place for Mom’s network — 62% — offer complimentary transportation to and from their facilities and all provide it for a low fee.

If you and your loved one need to get around another way, the following three options are excellent resources:

• Essential Transportation for Seniors: Essential Transportation for Seniors is a door-to-door transportation service that assists seniors with medical appointments and shopping. This service is popular and should be booked in advance.
• Able-Ride/Paratransit Program: This service provides transportation services for people who have a tough time using public transportation due to their unique needs. Attendant caregivers ride for free, creating a low-cost option to accompany seniors and their loved ones. Contact Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) Bus at 516-228-4028 to apply.
• Long Island Rail Road: Moreover, seniors aged 65 and above can take advantage of the Long Island Rail Road’s half-price fare on trains that do not arrive in New York City by using their Medicare cards, driver’s licenses, or birth certificates as proof of age.

Nursing home, assisted living or memory care residents have many needs, and their families want to make sure, in addition to excellent care, that those residents enjoy activities appropriate to their abilities. Long Island offers an abundance of opportunities to meet those needs.

For seniors who are somewhat active or mobile, the parks in the Long Island area can be an excellent and affordable destination. Bailey Arboretum offers a 42-acre preserve full of gardens and wildlife viewing opportunities. The park has paved paths and benches for breaks, and there are interactive activities like nature walks and bird-watching. Sands Point Preserve and Clark Botanic Garden offer similar outdoor activities for families and their loved ones. These can provide low-cost and low-stress activities for families to explore.

If seniors want to explore Long Island’s history, they should visit the Cradle of Aviation Museum to learn about Long Island’s importance in the development of flight and its contributions to the continued exploration of the skies. This museum offers wheelchair accessibility and assistive listening devices. The Long Island Museum offers similar opportunities to explore history and has a diverse range of exhibits to explore.

Shopping is an enjoyable pastime for some, if you are your loved one are looking for something new, check out one of the area’s outlet malls. For a more unique experience, the picturesque Village Town Shops in Suffolk County have everything from cozy restaurants to adorable boutiques.