Columbia Senior AdvisorWhat do Columbia Senior Advisor's guides cover?
Our 13 guides take Midlands families through specific decisions: memory care units around Columbia, nursing home ratings, OSS and Community Choices, VA help for military families, hospital discharge and county-by-county options, each sourced to South Carolina regulations, state agencies or federal data.
New guides appear on a regular schedule, and the newest is linked in the footer of every page. Each opens with a short answer, includes at least one data table, and closes with the questions families ask about it.
How do the guides differ from the reference pages?
The rules, cost and directory pages are reference material; each guide follows one situation or decision the way a family meets it, linking back to the reference pages for the full rules.
If a guide and a reference page ever disagree, we correct the reference page first and then the guide.
Northeast Columbia's Senior Care Corridor: Two Notch to Clemson Road
No part of the Midlands packs more licensed assisted living and nursing homes into a few miles. Here is how to compare them.
Read the guide →October 27, 2026Adult Day Care Around Columbia: Every Licensed Center and How to Choose
Adult day programs let a parent stay home and a caregiver keep working. The Midlands has more licensed centers than many families realize.
Read the guide →October 20, 2026DPH Enforcement Orders Against Midlands Facilities, 2025-2026
South Carolina publishes every administrative and consent order it issues against care facilities. Here is what the reports show for the six Midlands counties.
Read the guide →October 15, 2026PACE or Community Choices? Two Ways to Stay Home in Richland and Lexington
Both programs help frail Medicaid-eligible seniors stay out of a nursing home. They work very differently, and only one is available in every Midlands county.
Read the guide →October 10, 2026Optional State Supplementation in the Midlands: The 2026 Numbers and How to Use Them
OSS is South Carolina's main help for low-income assisted living residents. Here are the 2026 figures and what they mean for a Columbia family.
Read the guide →October 6, 2026Senior Care in Fairfield, Saluda and Calhoun Counties
The Midlands' three smallest counties are also its oldest. Licensed care is thin, aging agencies differ, and the drive to Columbia shapes most decisions.
Read the guide →October 1, 2026Senior Care in Kershaw County: Camden, Elgin and Lugoff
Kershaw County sits in a different aging region from Columbia and has its own hospital, nursing homes and assisted living. Here is the county at a glance.
Read the guide →September 26, 2026A Six-Bed Care Home or a 100-Bed Community? Sizing Up Columbia Assisted Living
The same South Carolina license covers a family-run home in North Columbia and a resort-style campus in Lexington. Size changes cost, staffing and daily life.
Read the guide →September 22, 2026Fort Jackson Retirees and Their Spouses: VA Aid and Attendance in Columbia
Columbia's military community includes thousands of veterans and surviving spouses who may qualify for VA pension with Aid and Attendance. Here is how it works with assisted living.
Read the guide →September 17, 2026Leaving Prisma Health Richland or Lexington Medical Center: A Discharge Checklist
Most Midlands rehab and nursing home stays begin with a discharge from one of four hospitals. This checklist covers the decisions families face in the first 48 hours.
Read the guide →September 12, 2026Nurse Staffing in Midlands Nursing Homes: What CMS's Payroll Data Shows
Star ratings get the attention, but staffing hours and turnover tell you more about daily life in a nursing home. Here is the Midlands snapshot.
Read the guide →September 8, 2026Assisted Living in Lexington County: A Town-by-Town Look
From Lake Murray to Batesburg-Leesville, Lexington County holds the Midlands' second-largest supply of licensed assisted living. Here is where it is and what to check.
Read the guide →September 3, 2026Where Columbia's Secured Memory Care Units Actually Are
South Carolina has no memory care license, but DPH flags every assisted living building that runs a secured Alzheimer's unit. We mapped the flags across the Midlands.
Read the guide →