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Staten Island Senior Advisor

About Staten Island Senior Advisor

HomeAbout Staten Island Senior Advisor

What we do

We help families across Staten Island find senior care, and we publish what we can verify about how senior care works in New York. That is the whole business.

How we are paid, stated plainly

Our service is free to families because senior living communities pay us a referral fee when a family we introduce moves in. We think you should know that on the first page you read rather than find it in a footer, because it is the thing most likely to bias a referral service.

Two consequences worth naming. First, we have a financial interest in you choosing a community that pays referral fees, and not every good option does. Ask us about those anyway; we will tell you what we know. Second, the fee does not vary by community in a way that should steer a recommendation, and if an advisor ever pushes a specific building without a reason that makes sense to you, push back.

Our editorial standard

We publish figures we can trace to a primary source. Where a widely-repeated number cannot be traced — metro-specific cost of care data is the clearest example — we say that instead of repeating it. Where a source is disputed, we flag the dispute.

What we are not

  • We are not affiliated with any state health department, department of aging, Area Agency on Aging, or any government agency.
  • We do not provide medical, legal or financial advice.
  • We do not operate, own or manage any senior living community.
  • We do not publish paid reviews or rankings.

Questions families ask

What does NYSDOH actually license when a Staten Island community calls itself "assisted living"?

New York State Department of Health licenses a base Adult Care Facility (Adult Home, Enriched Housing Program, or Residence for Adults), then permits an optional Assisted Living Residence (ALR) certification under 10 NYCRR Part 1001 on top of that. A community can only market itself as assisted living if it actually holds the ALR certification, not just the base ACF license.

What is a Special Needs Assisted Living Residence (SNALR), and does it matter for memory care?

SNALR is New York's actual memory-care certification -- a certification layered on an existing Assisted Living Residence (ALR) license under 10 NYCRR Part 1001, requiring an Individualized Service Plan for each resident with dementia or cognitive impairment. It matters because "memory care" itself is just a marketing phrase; SNALR is the regulated credential behind it.

How is a nursing home licensed differently from assisted living in New York?

Nursing homes are licensed under a completely separate rule chapter, 10 NYCRR Part 415, distinct from the Adult Care Facility and ALR/EALR/SNALR framework that governs assisted living and memory care. Nursing homes provide 24-hour licensed nursing care; assisted living provides personal care and supervision but not ongoing skilled nursing.

What is an Enhanced Assisted Living Residence (EALR), and why would it matter for aging in place?

EALR is an optional New York certification, layered on an existing ALR license under 10 NYCRR Part 1001, that allows a resident to age in place even after developing needs an ordinary ALR is not licensed to keep serving -- specifically physical assistance walking or using stairs, medical-equipment dependency, or chronic incontinence.

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