Memory care in Columbia and the Midlands

What is memory care in South Carolina?

Memory care is an Alzheimer's special care unit or program, a secured area or program inside a licensed CRCF or nursing home for residents with probable Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia, defined in Regulation 60-84, Section 101.F.

Across the six Midlands counties, 19 of the 64 senior-serving CRCFs carry DPH's Alzheimer's special care unit flag and another 7 report Alzheimer's care without a secured unit; among nursing homes, 4 of 28 carry an Alzheimer's flag (DPH data as of November 6, 2026). Any facility marketing special dementia care must give families a written disclosure under the Alzheimer's Special Care Disclosure Act.

Who needs memory care rather than regular assisted living?

People with dementia who wander or try to leave, get lost inside a building, put themselves at risk or need constant redirection usually need a secured unit; many people in early stages do well in an open CRCF.

A building with both standard assisted living and a secured unit can spare a second move later.

What does memory care cost around Columbia?

No memory care median is published for South Carolina or Columbia; expect more than the $5,350 monthly assisted living median because of the secured setting and added staffing, and compare written all-inclusive quotes.

Ask whether the unit takes Optional State Supplementation or Community Choices Residential Personal Care if savings may run low.

How should we evaluate a Midlands memory care unit?

Get the written dementia disclosure first, then visit in the late afternoon, ask how many staff are inside the unit overnight, how the day is structured and how agitation and exit-seeking are handled.

Look for residents who are engaged rather than parked in front of a television and staff who call residents by name. Ask how many beds sit behind the secured doors, since DPH's data does not say.

When should a family start looking at memory care?

Before a crisis: when a dementia diagnosis is made or wandering first appears, so the family can compare units calmly and join a waiting list if needed.

Families who wait for a fall or a wandering episode often have to accept whatever bed is open within days.

Where is memory care licensed across the Midlands?

This is how DPH's license data spreads memory care across Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Fairfield, Saluda and Calhoun counties.