Troubled Horry SC assisted living center is closing. Owner explains why and what’s next.

The owners of a pair of embattled Horry County assisted living centers have made the decision to close their Loris facility.

The residents at Oaks of Loris and their family members received a 30-day notice of the closure May 3, and the center is now working quickly to find licensed facilities to take them in, according to owner Terry McLean.

McLean told The Sun News the center had 36 residents at the time of the closure announcement, and they’ve already secured placement for 17 of them.

Oaks of Loris and Inlet Oaks in Murrells Inlet, both owned by the nonprofit Partners in Hope Inc., have been under pressure to close since February, when the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control revoked the license of the former and denied license renewal for the latter.

Both licenses remained active pending appeal, The Sun News reported in March.

McLean, owner of Capture Cares LLC, which has been managing the facilities since last November, assumed ownership of Partners in Hope after the former board, which included Horry County Coroner Robert Edge and Clerk of Court Renee Elvis, left suddenly.

The issues DHEC cited in making its decision to revoke the Oaks of Loris’ license — including black mold, roaches, strong urine smells and unattended medicine bottles — were due to improper maintenance of the facility by the former board and management company, McLean alleged.

McLean told The Sun News in March that she was optimistic the work her company was doing to remediate those issues would convince DHEC officials to change their decision. But increased scrutiny from state inspectors was causing too much frustration for employees and residents, several who decided to move before the closure announcement, she said.

One of the biggest issues leading to the decision is that the Oaks of Loris was unable to find a licensed administrator willing to work there, McLean said. The lack of a licensed administrator kept the facility out of compliance, which would’ve been tough to overcome in their appeal effort, she explained.

DHEC officials were unavailable to comment on the closure Wednesday because it was a state observed holiday, Confederate Memorial Day.

Partners in Hope is continuing its efforts to keep Inlet Oaks open, McLean said, adding that they plan to transfer that license to Capture Cares and dissolve Partners in Hope if they’re successful.

The Loris center’s closure will impact 18 employees, though some will just move to the Murrells Inlet center, McLean said.

Once the closure is complete, renovations of the facility at 260 Watson Heritage Rd will continue, and McLean said she’s hopeful to eventually find another ownership group to reopen it as an assisted living center.