Greenville Senior AdvisorIs there a memory care license in South Carolina?
No. Memory care in South Carolina happens in Alzheimer's special care units or programs inside licensed CRCFs or nursing homes, defined in Regulation 60-84, Section 101.F, and DPH's licensing data flags the facilities that have one.
“Memory care” on a brochure has no legal meaning by itself; the DPH flag and the written disclosure do.
What must a memory care unit tell families in South Carolina?
A facility that offers or advertises special care for people with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia must disclose in writing what makes its care special, under the Alzheimer's Special Care Disclosure Act (S.C. Code 44-36-510 and following).
Ask for the disclosure before touring, and compare it with what you see.
How many staff must be on a South Carolina memory care unit at night?
South Carolina sets no separate ratio for Alzheimer's units; the CRCF minimum of one staff member per 30 residents during non-peak hours, with someone awake and dressed at all times, applies to the building.
At peak hours the minimum is one per eight residents. Ask how many staff are physically on the secured unit overnight.
How many Greenville-area facilities have Alzheimer's units?
DPH's licensing data (as of October 31, 2026) flags an Alzheimer's special care unit at 35 of the 61 senior-serving CRCFs in Greenville, Anderson, Pickens and Laurens counties, and Alzheimer's care without a unit at 2 more; 6 of the 34 licensed nursing homes carry an Alzheimer's flag.
Our memory care directory lists every flagged building, sortable by city and size.
Can a CRCF use medication to control a resident with dementia?
Only as prescribed: Regulation 60-84 bars chemical restraint for staff convenience, but antipsychotic medication prescribed by a physician for a resident with dementia and given exactly as ordered and recorded is not treated as a chemical restraint (Section 905).
Ask how often residents' psychiatric medications are reviewed and what non-drug approaches staff use first.
When must a memory care resident move to a nursing home in South Carolina?
When the resident needs a nurse's continuous daily attention, is totally dependent in all daily activities for more than 14 consecutive days without improvement, or has behavior the facility cannot control; the facility must then arrange a transfer within 30 days.
Dementia itself is not a reason to move, and hospice can care for residents in place.
Do Greenville memory care units allow hospice?
Yes. A South Carolina CRCF, including its Alzheimer's special care unit, may bring in a licensed hospice so a resident can stay through the end of life, as long as the facility's care combined with hospice meets the resident's needs (Regulation 60-84, Section 801.F).
Ask the unit how it works with hospice nurses and whether staff are trained in end-of-life comfort care. Most families prefer that a parent with advanced dementia not face a move in the final months, and the regulation's 30-day transfer rule applies only when needs can no longer be met with outside help.
