In-home care across Columbia and the Midlands

What is in-home care in South Carolina?

In-home care is help at home from DPH-licensed in-home care providers, whose aides assist with bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping and companionship, and from licensed home health agencies, which send nurses and therapists under a doctor's order.

DPH's data counts 290 licensed in-home care providers with Midlands offices, 220 of them in Richland County and 47 in Lexington County.

What does Medicare pay for at home?

Medicare pays for skilled home health visits for homebound patients under a doctor's plan; it does not pay for hourly non-medical aides, which are paid privately, through long-term care insurance, VA benefits or Community Choices.

DPH lists 17 home health agencies, 18 hospice programs, 1 inpatient hospice house and 290 in-home care providers with offices in the six Midlands counties.

What does in-home care cost around Columbia?

CareScout's 2025 South Carolina median for a home care worker is about $31 an hour, about $5,982 a month at 44 hours a week; no Columbia figure is published.

Agencies often have three- or four-hour minimum shifts and higher weekend and overnight rates.

How do we choose an in-home care agency in the Midlands?

Confirm the DPH license, then ask about minimum shifts, aide screening and training, whether aides are employees, who covers call-outs, how care plans are updated and whether the agency takes Community Choices or long-term care insurance.

Agencies with offices near your parent often staff early-morning and short shifts more reliably. Our in-home care roster lists every licensed provider by city.

When is in-home care no longer enough?

When help is needed at unpredictable hours, especially overnight, when falls or missed medications continue despite paid help, or when paid hours pass about 40 a week, a CRCF's around-the-clock staffing often becomes safer and comparable in cost.

Track incidents for a few weeks before deciding.

Can Medicaid pay for in-home care in the Midlands?

Yes, for eligible members: the Community Choices waiver pays for personal care, companion care, respite and adult day health care for people at nursing facility level of care, and PACE covers home care for its participants in Richland, Lexington and Calhoun counties.

Waiver hours are capped and can come with a waiting list, so families usually blend them with their own help. Ask agencies whether they are enrolled Community Choices providers before you need them.

Where is in-home care licensed across the Midlands?

This is how DPH's license data spreads in-home care across Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Fairfield, Saluda and Calhoun counties; agencies have no bed count.