Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park

How is Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park licensed in South Carolina?

Yes. Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park appears on DPH's active roster with 193 licensed beds, bigger than the typical (48-bed) senior-serving CRCF among the 56 we track in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties.

The record shows the current term ending November 30, 2026, after which the license must be renewed. Since the annual fee is charged per licensed bed ($10 each, $75 floor), operators have little reason to carry beds they do not use.

License numbers are issued in sequence. Ordered from lowest to highest, CRC-1917 is number 28 of the 56 senior CRCF licenses in the tri-county area; that hints at how long this license line has existed, not how old the building is.

Does Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park offer a secured memory care unit?

Yes, according to DPH: Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park is flagged for an Alzheimer's special care unit or program, the state's term for a secure area or program for people with probable Alzheimer's or a related dementia that restricts their movement outside it (Regulation 60-84, Section 101.F).

There is no special dementia staffing ratio in South Carolina. The whole building works to the CRCF floor of one staff member for every eight residents at peak times and one for every 30 off-peak, so ask how many people are posted inside the secured area overnight.

Background: South Carolina's rules for Alzheimer's units.

Has DPH sanctioned Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park?

No. Searching DPH's enforcement reports for January 2025 to September 2026 turned up no administrative or consent order against Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park.

Staying off the enforcement list means no recent penalty or sanction; it does not mean DPH found nothing to correct. Only the inspection report shows that.

Where can families read inspection reports for Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park?

Put a written request to DPH Healthcare Quality. South Carolina keeps CRCF inspection reports offline, but Section 202.E of Regulation 60-84 opens inspection and investigation reports, and the facility's response, to the public on written request, with personal names removed.

Some DPH visits are complaint investigations, and those reports are public on the same terms. When you ask for the latest report, ask what prompted it.

Where would Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park residents go in a hurricane evacuation?

Ask to see it: every South Carolina CRCF must keep a written emergency and disaster evacuation plan, made with its county emergency management agency, that names where residents will be sheltered, how they will be moved and who will care for them, and residents or their responsible party may inspect it (Regulation 60-84, Section 1401).

Because the building is in Charleston County, Regulation 60-84 (Section 1401.B.1.c) requires its hurricane plan to name at least one sheltering facility outside the six coastal counties of Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Horry, Jasper and Georgetown. Ask which vehicles are contracted, how medications travel with residents, and how families are told where their relative went. See how hurricane rules apply to Lowcountry facilities.

What should we compare Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park with nearby?

Fellowship Carolina Park in Mount Pleasant is the nearest other senior-serving CRCF, roughly 0.2 miles off as the crow flies, licensed for 97 beds and not flagged for an Alzheimer's special care unit.

Which hospitals are closest to Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park?

Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park is in Mount Pleasant in Charleston County, and Mount Pleasant Hospital is the closest general hospital on DPH's roster, roughly 0.5 miles off as the crow flies.

After that comes East Cooper Medical Center, about 6.4 miles away. These are map distances; bridges and traffic on I-26, I-526 and the Ravenel Bridge decide the real drive.

Should nursing care become necessary, the closest CMS-certified homes are Franke Health Care Center (5.2 mi, CMS 4 of 5) and Oak Harbor Healthcare (7.1 mi, CMS 4 of 5).

Also licensed at this street address: Fellowship Carolina Park (community residential care facility, license CRC-2422). On a shared campus a resident can often change levels of care without changing communities.

What should a family ask Merrill Gardens at Carolina Park before signing?

The public data sets the agenda: ask the date of DPH's latest visit, what was cited, and to read the signed plan of correction.

• Ask for a sample week of the staffing schedule and compare it with the floor for 193 beds: 25 at peak, 7 off-peak.
• Request the written Alzheimer's special care disclosure and the number of beds inside the secured unit.
• Before counting on public help, confirm whether the building takes OSS or Residential Personal Care at all.
• Ask which charges rise with care needs, and check the agreement's 30-day notice clause for fee changes.
• The licensee is registered in WA; ask who runs the building locally and who sits above the administrator.