DeGraff Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility

Admissions may be arranged through a hospital discharge planner, provider referral or by contacting our care team directly at (716) 690-2329. An admission application must be completed to be considered for admission to the facility.

We accept most major insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid. Coverage varies by age, service type and medical needs.

View the current  Visitation Policy  

Annual nursing home ratings provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in areas of health inspections, staffing and quality.

        January 2026

Overall Rating: 4-Star

The overall rating is based on a nursing home's performance in three areas: health inspections, staffing and quality measures.

Health Inspection Rating: 3-Star

State inspectors conduct annual health and safety inspections of nursing homes to ensure compliance with Medicare and Medicaid regulations. A nursing home may also be inspected based on a complaint submitted by a resident (or other individual) or based on a facility's self-reported incident. Nursing homes are also inspected for compliance with infection control and prevention standards.

Staffing Rating: 4-Stars

Higher staffing levels and lower staffing turnover in a nursing home may indicate higher quality of care for residents. Hours worked by different types of staff are reported by nursing homes and are used to calculate the ratio of staffing hours per resident per day, as well as the staffing turnover rate. Hours per resident per day describe the average amount of time staff are available to spend with each resident. Staff turnover refers to how many staff members leave the facility within a given year.

Quality Measure Rating: 5-Stars

The quality measures star rating reflects aspects of nursing home performance in certain areas of care, such as whether residents have received their flu shots, are in pain or are losing weight. By comparing scores, you can see how nursing homes may differ from each other.

The quality measures star rating is calculated using two different types of quality measures: short-stay and long-stay resident quality measures.

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Your rights as a nursing home resident in the state of New York 

https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/nursing/rights/docs/rights_flyer.pdf

Degraff Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility
445 Tremont Street
North Tonawanda, NY 14120

December 16, 2024

This directive is intended to heighten awareness among residents and their families as to the availability of certain compliance information maintained by the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with regards to residential health facilities.

Both the NYSDOH and CMS maintain information on nursing homes that includes performance on quality measures, complaints, inspection results and citations and enforcement actions, as well as any penalties imposed on the nursing home. CMS has created a tool called Care Compare to help consumers search for and select nursing homes and other health care providers and the NYS DOH maintains a web site called Nursing Home Profiles.

According to CMS, the information it maintains on nursing homes should be used with other information you gather about providers and facilities in your area. In addition to reviewing the Care Compare information, you should talk to your doctor, social worker or other health care providers when choosing a provider. Additional tips for selecting a nursing home can be found in CMS’s guide to selecting a nursing home. Access the New York State Nursing Home Profiles website maintained by the New York State Department of Health.

On the NYSDOH site, select the nursing home by name after selecting the appropriate Region/County from the dropdown menu, and open the Inspections tab to view any Complaints, Inspection results including any citations, and any enforcement actions against the nursing home. Access the Nursing Home Compare website maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

On the CMS Care Compare site, enter the name of the nursing home in the search box. Click on the name of the nursing home to view Inspection results as well as any penalties that have been imposed.

September 2025

Section 1135 Waiver- At a Glance

When the President declares a disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act or National Emergencies Act and the HHS Secretary declares a public health emergency under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, the Secretary is authorized to take certain actions in addition to his/her regular authorities. For example, under section 1135 of the Social Security Act, the Secretary may temporarily waive or modify certain Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements to ensure:

1. Sufficient health care items and services are available to meet the needs of individuals enrolled in Social Security Act programs in the emergency area and time periods.
2. Providers who give such services in good faith can be reimbursed and exempted from sanctions (absent any determination of fraud or abuse).

Examples of these 1135 waivers or modifications include:

• Conditions of participation or other certification requirements
• Program participation and similar requirements
• Preapproval requirements
• Requirements that physicians and other health care professionals be licensed in the State in which they are providing services, so long as they have equivalent licensing in another State. (This waiver is for purposes of Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement only)
• Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) sanctions for redirection of an individual to receive a medical screening examination in an alternative location pursuant to a state emergency preparedness plan (or in the case of a public health emergency involving pandemic infectious disease, a state pandemic preparedness plan) or transfer of an individual who has not been stabilized if the transfer is necessitated by the circumstances of the declared emergency.
  • Performance deadlines and timetables may be adjusted (but not waived).
  • Limitations on payment to permit Medicare enrollees to use out of network providers in an emergency situation.

These waivers under section 1135 of the Social Security Act typically end no later than the termination of the emergency period, or 60 days from the date the waiver or modification is first published unless the Secretary of HHS extends the waiver by notice for additional periods of up to 60 days, up to the end of the emergency period. Waiver of EMTALA requirements for emergencies that involve a pandemic disease last until termination of the pandemic-related public health emergency. The 1135 waiver authority applies only to Federal requirements and does not apply to State requirements for licensure or conditions of participation. In addition to the 1135 waiver authority, Section 1812(f) of the Social Security Act (the Act) authorizes the Secretary to provide for SNF coverage in the absence of a qualifying hospital stay, as long as this action does not increase overall program payments and does not alter the SNF benefit’s “acute care nature” (that is, its orientation toward relatively short-term and intensive care). In this way, beneficiaries who may have been discharged from a hospital early to make room for more seriously ill patients will be eligible for Medicare Part A SNF benefits. In addition, beneficiaries who had not been in a hospital or SNF prior to being evacuated, but who need skilled nursing care as a result of the emergency, will be eligible for Medicare Part A SNF coverage without having to meet the 3-day qualifying hospital stay requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• The web portal to access 1135 waiver requests and inquiries are located at: CMS PHE Emergency Web Portal.
• Questions regarding 1135 that are not addressed at the above website can be sent to the following mailbox: 1135Waiver@cms.hhs.gov

Additional Disclosures 

New York State Public Health Law Maximum Rates for Residency and Services 

I. Disclosure in accordance with Section 2829(1) of the New York State Public Health Law Maximum Rates for Residency and Services effective January 1, 2026:

DeGraff Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility offers multiple levels of care that include long term care and subacute care. The facility rate for residency and services for non-governmental payer source depends on the level of care received. 

The skilled and subacute rates are as follows:

• Highmark Western New York - $525.36-$644.29 (level of care dependent)
• Independent Health - $437-$930 (level of care dependent)
• Univera- $541-$655 (level of care dependent)

All levels of care (including Specialty units) the rates ranges are as follows:

• Highmark Western New York - $644-$913.70 (level of care dependent)
• Independent Health - $644-$913.70 (level of care dependent)
• Univera- $655-$1516 (level of care dependent)

II. Disclosure in accordance with Section 2829(2)(a) of the New York State Public Health Law Ownership of the Facility:

As a not-for-profit company, DeGraff Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing facility is owned by Kaleida Health, Inc. 100 High Street, Buffalo, New York 14203.

III. Disclosure in accordance with Section 2829(2)(b) of the New York State Public Health Law Name and Business address of the Landlord of the Facility’s Premises:

DeGraff Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing facility’s property is owned by Kaleida Health, Inc. 100 High Street, Buffalo, New York 14203.

IV. Disclosure in accordance with Section 2829(2)(c) of the New York State Public Health Law Summary of Contracts for Goods and Services Paid for with Medicaid or Medicare Funds:

Kaleida Health Long Term Care (KH LTC) routinely reviews and screens vendors/contracts/agreements for the provision of goods or services which the facility pays with any portion of Medicaid or Medicare funds. KH LTC will search a central repository on a routine basis for individual and entities that have been excluded from participating in federally funded healthcare programs which include Medicare and Medicaid. This insures that our vendors/contracts/agreements are appropriate to participate in and to be paid with funds received from Medicare and Medicaid. Some examples would be:

• Commercial insurance partners would include IHA, Univera Healthcare, and Highmark WNY (formerly BC/BS of WNY);
• Service providers would include Great Lakes Fire & Safety, Ferguson Electric, R.E. Kelly;
• Providers of goods such as Buffalo Pharmacy, Health System Services, U.S. Foods, etc.

If you would like additional information, please contact Victoria Belniak, Kaleida Health Corporate Compliance officer at 716-859-8633 or Christopher Bagneschi, Director, at 716-690-2081.

 

V. Pandemic Emergency Plan

VI. Facility Assessment

VII. Emergency Management Plan