Columbia Senior AdvisorWhat usually starts a senior care search in Columbia?
A discharge from Prisma Health, MUSC Health or Lexington Medical Center, a fall, a dementia diagnosis, a family caregiver reaching the end of their rope, or savings running low are the moments that bring most families to us.
Each guide below begins at that moment and lists the steps in order, with the South Carolina rules and Midlands phone numbers that apply.
Who can help us work out the next step for free?
The Central Midlands Area Agency on Aging ((803) 376-5390) gives free information and referral for Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties, the Santee-Lynches, Lower Savannah and Upper Savannah agencies cover Kershaw, Calhoun and Saluda, and a senior advisor can walk through licensed options; none of them charges families.
If anyone is in danger, call 911. Suspected abuse or neglect of an adult at home goes to DSS Adult Protective Services at 1-888-227-3487.
What if our situation is not here?
Start with what help is needed and when: list the daily tasks your parent can no longer do safely, note whether help is needed at night, and estimate what the budget can sustain for two or three years.
Those three answers usually narrow the choice to one or two South Carolina license types, and the directory then shows which licensed providers are near you.
Situations: every guide
When a parent is being discharged from a Columbia-area hospital
What to do when a parent is discharged from Prisma Health Richland, Prisma Health Baptist, Lexington Medical Center or MUSC Health Columbia: observation status, rehab choices, home health, assisted living and Medicaid timing.
Open the guide →When living alone stops being safe
Signs an aging parent in the Midlands can no longer live alone, how to talk about it, and the options: in-home care, adult day care, Community Choices, PACE and assisted living in Columbia.
Open the guide →After a dementia diagnosis: what to do first
First steps after an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis in the Midlands: legal documents, safety at home, driving, support for caregivers, adult day care and evaluating secured memory care units in Columbia.
Open the guide →When the family caregiver is running on empty
Help for exhausted family caregivers around Columbia, SC: respite care, adult day care, in-home aides, Community Choices respite, Area Agency on Aging caregiver programs and when to consider a move.
Open the guide →When the money for care is running out
What Columbia-area families can do when a parent's savings for assisted living or home care are running out: OSS, Community Choices, nursing home Medicaid, VA pension and choosing a facility that will not force a move.
Open the guide →Managing a parent's care in the Midlands from far away
How long-distance families manage a parent's senior care in Columbia, SC: local contacts, legal documents, checking facilities remotely, care managers, visits and choosing a community that communicates well.
Open the guide →After a parent falls: what to do next
What Columbia-area families should do after an older parent falls: medical evaluation, home safety, Medicare home health and therapy, when a fall points to assisted living, and fall questions to ask a facility.
Open the guide →Bringing a parent to Columbia to be near family
What to know when moving an aging parent to Columbia, SC: choosing a part of the Midlands, South Carolina's CRCF license, transferring Medicaid, finding doctors, and timing the move.
Open the guide →