What's the difference between Erie County and Niagara County for senior care planning?
Short answer: Erie County is the metro's urban/suburban core, anchored by Buffalo and its inner-ring suburbs, with the widest concentration of licensed communities. Niagara County is more rural/agricultural overall, anchored by Niagara Falls and Lockport (the county seat).
This matters practically because it affects both the number of options nearby and which local agencies serve a specific address. Erie County's Department of Senior Services (95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, (716) 858-8526) covers Erie County towns from Buffalo out through Amherst, Cheektowaga, West Seneca, the Tonawandas, and the Southtowns suburbs. Niagara County has its own separate Office for the Aging serving Niagara Falls, Lockport, North Tonawanda, and the more rural towns to the north. Both counties share the same Region 15 Long Term Care Ombudsman office (People Inc.), so that contact doesn't change based on which county you're in, but the local aging-services agency does.
