In North Carolina, 'memory care' isn't a separate license — it's a Special Care Unit (SCU) designation that a facility adds to its existing adult care home license under G.S. 131D-8 and 10A NCAC 13F .1300, requiring state approval of a specific disclosure statement covering staffing, programming, and physical safety features like secured entrances. Ask any facility claiming to offer memory care for a copy of that state-required SCU disclosure statement, not just marketing materials, and confirm the SCU designation is current by checking NC DHSR's facility search tool. Regular assisted living without an SCU designation may still accept residents with early dementia, but isn't required to meet the added security and staff-training standards.
The distinction that matters
Families searching for 'memory care' in the Triangle sometimes assume it's its own regulatory category, similar to how some states license memory care separately from standard assisted living, but North Carolina takes a different approach: any adult care home can apply for a Special Care Unit designation added onto its existing license, which then obligates the facility to provide a formal, state-approved disclosure statement to prospective residents and families. That disclosure is meant to spell out concrete details — staffing ratios, staff dementia training, physical security measures like secured egress — rather than vague marketing language about a 'memory care neighborhood.' Because the SCU designation is added to an existing license rather than issued as a wholly separate credential, it's worth directly verifying a facility's current SCU status through NC DHSR's own facility search tool rather than relying solely on what a sales counselor describes during a tour.
Related questions
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