§ 143B-1298.  Eligibility and priorities.

(a) To be eligible for admission to a State veterans home, an applicant shall meet the following requirements:

(1) The veteran shall have served in the active Armed Forces of the United States for other than training purposes;

(2) The veteran shall have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States under honorable conditions;

(3) The veteran shall be disabled by age, disease, or other reason as determined through a physical examination by a State veterans home physician; and

(4) The veteran shall have resided in the State of North Carolina for two years immediately prior to the date of application.

(b) Eligible veterans will be admitted into a State veterans home or place on waiting lists for admission into a home according to the following priorities:

(1) Eligible wartime veterans will receive priority over eligible nonwartime veterans and will be admitted to the first available bed capable of providing the level of care required. Eligible wartime veterans with equal care requirements will be ranked in chronological order based on the earliest date of receipt of the veteran's application for care.

(2) All other eligible veterans will be ranked in chronological order based on the earliest date of receipt of the veteran's application for care. If more than one application is received on the same date, the Administrative Officer will determine their sequential order on the list according to medical need.

(c) Nonveterans may occupy no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total beds in a State veterans home. When any space is available for nonveterans, priority will be established for the following relatives of eligible veterans in the following order:

(1) Spouse.

(2) Widow or widower whose spouse, if living, would be an eligible veteran.

(3) Gold Star parents, defined as the mother or father of a veteran who died an honorable death while in active service to the United States during time of war or emergency. (1995, c. 346, s. 1; 2001-117, s. 3; 2011-183, s. 126; 2015-241, s. 24.1(k); 2015-268, s. 7.3(a).)