Memory Care in South Carolina

With mild temperatures throughout the state and beaches along its Atlantic shoreline, South Carolina has much to offer as a retirement destination. The Greenville-Spartanburg area in the northwest corner of the state is an affordable, thriving metropolitan area for all ages. Along its Atlantic shorelines to the east, the Palmetto State earns its nickname with popular coastal cities like Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Savannah. South Carolina living is filled with Southern hospitality and charm, which may explain why the state has a higher-than-average senior population.

Currently, A Place for Mom partners with more than 100 senior living communities in South Carolina that provide memory care.

The median monthly cost of memory care in South Carolina is about $4,600.

Families may find comfort in understanding what they can legally expect from South Carolina’s memory care facilities. Memory care is provided in Alzheimer’s special care programs that operate in licensed facilities known as community residential care facilities. These facilities are licensed by the Board of Health and Environmental Control’s Division of Health Licensing, and they can provide memory care services, assisted living services, or a combination of both.^[01]

Because these programs operate in facilities that may also offer assisted living services, there may be some overlap with the regulations outlined below. You can read more about South Carolina assisted living laws and regulations for more detailed information.

Memory care staff requirements

South Carolina has specific requirements for memory care staff so your loved one can receive high quality care:^[01]

• Staff training must include communication techniques, behaviors related to dementia, appropriate activities, and safety.
• All staff must complete their training before working with seniors.
• Training must be repeated at least once a year.
• There must be enough staff so that all seniors can receive their services and be properly supervised.
• There must always be at least one awake staff member if there are seniors with dementia and fewer than eight beds.

In addition to these training requirements, all memory care staff and community residential care facility staff are required to pass a criminal background check.^[01]

Building requirements

Because South Carolina’s Alzheimer’s special care programs provide memory care in community residential care facilities, they must follow certain standards for housing units and other building requirements:^[01]

• Memory care must be provided in a separate, secure area of the building.
• Senior’s units aren’t required to be apartment-style units.
• Units can’t house more than three seniors.
• There must be at least one toilet for every six seniors
• There must be at least one tub or shower for every eight seniors.

South Carolina Department of Health contact information

South Carolina Department of Public Health
2100 Bull St.
Columbia, SC 26201
Phone: 803-898-3301

Inspections

All community residential care facilities are inspected by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services before they receive a license.^[01] Reading through a facility’s inspection report can give families an idea of how they’ve handled complaints and violations in the past, if there are any. Contact the South Carolina Department of Public Health’s Freedom of Information Office at 803-898-7503 to inquire about a specific facility, or make a Freedom of Information Act request to review available inspection reports.