Introduction
New York State law limits eligibility for admission to the New York State Veterans' Home to veterans and their dependents.
For your convenience, various formats of the New York State Veterans Homes "Application for Admission" form has been provided below. The form may be downloaded, viewed, and printed. The form may then be filled in and mailed to the Home of choice. Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Word, or any Web browser is required to view or print the files. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free to download, click the link and follow the instructions.
Download:
Health Requirements
- The Home is certified for Medicare and Medicaid.
- Each person admitted to the home must require skilled nursing care. Each application is reviewed to determine the applicant's need for services provided by the home.
Veteran Eligibility
To be eligible for admission to the Home, certain criteria must be met:
- The applicant must have entered active duty from the State of New York or be a New York State resident for one year prior to application for admission.
- The veteran must also have had an honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces.
- The veteran must have had at least thirty (30) days of active service.
- A veteran accompanied by their spouse both of whom require skilled nursing care will receive the highest priority for admission followed by "wartime" veterans; "non-wartime" veterans, spouses and unremarried surviving spouses, and then Gold Star mothers and fathers.
New York State Public Health Law §2632 specifies "wartime" veteran as a veteran who served in the United States military during any one of the following time frames
- Spanish American War - April 21, 1898 - April 11, 1899
- Philippine Insurrection - April 11, 1899 - July 4, 1902
- World War I - April 6, 1917 - November 11, 1918
- World War II - December 7, 1941 - December 31, 1946 (*) (Special Rules Apply For WWII. Please Call The Admissions Department.)
- Korean Conflict - June 27, 1950 - January 31, 1955
- Vietnam Conflict - February 28, 1961 - May 7, 1975
- Lebanon¹ - June 1, 1983 - December 1, 1987
- Grenada¹ - October 23, 1983 - November 21, 1983
- Panama¹ - December 20, 1989 - January 31, 1990
- Persian Gulf² - August 2, 1990 - end of conflict
- Bosnia and Herzgegovina³ - November 21, 1995 - November 1, 2007
¹If recipient of Armed Forces, Navy, or Marine Corps expeditionary medal for participation in Lebanon, Grenada and/or Panama.
²Persian Gulf conflict includes military service in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn or Operation Inherent Resolve and was the recipient of the global war on terrorism expeditionary medal or the Iraq campaign medal or the Afghanistan campaign medal.
³Participation in conflict or a recipient of the Kosovo campaign medal.
Public Health Law also includes the following veteran eligibility:
- Veterans who were exposed to radiation during military service in a "radiation-risk activity" defined as participation in the Occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan from August 6, 1945 - July 1, 1946.
- Veterans who were prisoners of war in Japan during World War II.
- Veterans with onsite participation in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device, whether or not the testing nation was the United States.
Spouse Of A Veteran
A spouse of an otherwise qualified veteran, unless legally separated, may be admitted to the Home if the spouse was married to an eligible veteran for (1) year prior to application and requires skilled nursing care.
A spouse may accompany a qualified veteran for admission if both the veteran and spouse qualify and require skilled nursing care. If the veteran dies, the spouse may continue in residence provided he or she needs skilled nursing care.
Unremarried Surviving Spouse of Veteran
An unremarried surviving spouse of an eligible veteran may also apply for admission:
- An unremarried surviving spouse must have been married to an eligible veteran for at least 1 year prior to application for admission.
- If the veteran died on active duty, length of service is not required.
Parent of a Veteran
Mothers and fathers of an eligible veteran may also apply for admission:
- Eligibility is limited to parents only of those eligible veterans who died while on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States (referred to as Gold Star parents).
- Veteran length of service is not required.