Westchester County, which is located at the mouth of the Hudson River in the southeastern region of New York, has nearly 970,000 residents. The county's senior community makes up about 17% of the population. Of those seniors who receive Medicaid services, nearly 13% are living with Alzheimer's disease.
Families have more than a dozen of memory care facilities in Westchester County to choose from, including those which are located in the cities of Mount Vernon, White Plains and Yonkers. In most cases, memory care services in Westchester County, as in all of New York, are provided in special needs assisted living facilities and monitored by the New York Department of Health.
- Westchester County is home to world-class medical facilities, including those specializing in brain health and dementia care such as Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, in the event of medical emergencies or illness.
- Westchester County's year-round temperatures range between 21 degrees and 83 degrees, compared to the national annual averages of 23 degrees and 86 degrees. The region receives 33 inches of annual snowfall on average, which is about 7 inches more than the nationwide median. Families may want to find a memory care facility that has rooms with individual climate control to ensure their loved one's comfort.
- The American Lung Association gives Westchester County an F for ozone pollution. Ozone pollution, which results from particles from smokestacks and tailpipes coming into contact with sunlight, may negatively impact the health of seniors with conditions like COPD or heart disease.
- In New York, all Social Security retirement benefits and government pensions are entirely exempt from state income tax. While Westchester County seniors do pay state income tax on other types of retirement income, including withdrawals from retirement accounts and private pension income, there is a large deduction to offset this expense. This may leave more money in the memory care budget.
Note: Data reported on this page was updated in 2019 and based on the latest 2018 figures.