Columbia Senior AdvisorMill Creek Manor at 651 Polo Rd, Columbia (Richland County) is a community residential care facility, the license South Carolina uses for assisted living, with 59 licensed beds under DPH license CRC-2174 (current through October 31, 2027); its record carries DPH's Alzheimer's special care unit flag.
What does the DPH license show for Mill Creek Manor in Columbia?
Yes. Mill Creek Manor holds an active DPH license as a CRCF with 59 beds, larger than the 39-bed midpoint of the 64 senior-serving CRCFs we track in the six Midlands counties.
| Field | From the DPH record |
|---|---|
| DPH license number | CRC-2174 |
| License term on file | November 1, 2026 through October 31, 2027 |
| Licensed beds | 59 |
| Secured Alzheimer's unit flag | Yes |
| Alzheimer's care flag | Yes |
| Legal licensee | Mainstay Healthcare Mill Creek LLC (home state FL) |
| Business form on the license | Limited Liability |
| Administrator named by DPH | Thomas Horton |
| DPH penalty orders (January 2025 to September 2026) | 1 |
| Phone on the DPH record | (803) 790-9800 |
Licenses are issued to one legal operator at one street address for one year at a time; the current year began November 1, 2026. If the building changes hands, the new owner needs a new license and the number changes.
Sorted by license number, CRC-2174 falls at position 42 of 64 senior CRCFs in our six counties. Lower numbers generally mean an older license line, though not necessarily an older building.
Is Mill Creek Manor set up for residents with dementia who wander?
Yes. DPH's record for Mill Creek Manor carries the Alzheimer's special care unit flag, meaning a secured program for residents with probable Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia that restricts their movement outside a designated area, as Regulation 60-84 Section 101.F describes it.
The state does not require a lower staff-to-resident ratio on a dementia wing. The building-wide minimum (one worker per eight residents at peak times, one per thirty overnight) is all the regulation demands, so ask who is physically inside the locked area after midnight.
South Carolina's rules for these units are summarized on our memory care rules page.
Has DPH issued an enforcement order against Mill Creek Manor?
Yes. Mill Creek Manor is named in 1 DPH Healthcare Quality order published between January 2025 to September 2026; the latest appears in the April 2026 report.
- April 2026 report: Consent Order; based on visits including August 5, 2025
In a consent order the operator accepts the penalty and the required fixes rather than contest them. Each monthly report PDF is linked from DPH's enforcement actions page; on a visit, ask the administrator what was changed afterward and who checks it.
Where can I read Mill Creek Manor's DPH inspection reports?
Ask Mill Creek Manor for its copy, or request one from DPH in writing; Section 202.E of Regulation 60-84 makes the reports public even though the state posts no CRCF inspection data online.
Complaint investigations produce reports too, available on the same terms. When you ask for the newest one, ask whether it was a routine visit or a complaint.
If Mill Creek Manor has no opening, where else should we look?
The nearest other senior CRCF is Wildewood Downs Assisted Living Community in Columbia, about 0.4 miles away as the crow flies, licensed for 57 beds and flagged for an Alzheimer's special care unit.
| Facility | Miles away | Licensed beds | Alzheimer's unit / care (DPH) | DPH orders since Jan 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildewood Downs Assisted Living Community 731 Polo Rd, 29223 | 0.4 | 57 | Unit + care | 0 |
| Addison's Community Care Home 4013 Percival Rd, 29229 | 1.5 | 9 | No | 0 |
| Joanne's Community Care Home II 756 Farrowood Dr, 29223 | 3.1 | 9 | No | 0 |
| Blake at Woodcreek Farms 385 Spears Creek Church Rd, 29045 | 3.2 | 100 | Unit + care | 0 |
| Rockhaven Community Care Home 524 Rockhaven Dr, 29223 | 3.2 | 10 | No | 0 |
How far is Mill Creek Manor from a hospital?
Mill Creek Manor is located in Columbia's Northeast Columbia, Sandhills & Clemson Road area, and MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center-Northeast is the closest general hospital on DPH's list, about 4.0 miles away by straight line.
MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown is next, roughly 8.9 miles off. All distances are straight-line measurements between mapped points, not driving times.
Should nursing care become necessary, the two nearest CMS-certified nursing homes are Wildewood Downs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (0.4 mi; CMS rating 5 of 5) and Life Care Center of Columbia (2.2 mi; CMS rating 2 of 5).
What should we ask Mill Creek Manor before signing?
Use the public record as your checklist: ask what prompted the order in DPH's April 2026 report and how the fix is being monitored.
- Ask the date of the last DPH visit and whether you can read the report and the facility's response.
- Ask for a sample week of staff schedules: the legal floor for 59 residents is 8 staff at peak and 2 at night.
- Ask for the written dementia-care disclosure and the number of beds behind the secured doors.
- Ask what happens when a private-pay resident's savings are gone, and whether OSS residents are accepted.
- Take the admission agreement home; South Carolina requires it to list every fee and give 30 days' written notice before a fee change.
- The licensee's home state is FL; ask who runs the building locally and who answers above the administrator.
