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Charleston is a good city for starting a home health career because students can choose between traditional CNA schools, employer-sponsored training, and shorter caregiver pathways.
South Carolina does not issue a separate statewide Home Health Aide license to every person working in home care.
The exact training you need depends on whether you are providing non-medical in-home care or working as a Home Health Aide for a licensed or Medicare-certified home health agency.
For formal HHA work in a Medicare-certified setting, the standard pathway generally involves at least 75 hours of training, including supervised practical training, followed by a competency evaluation.
South Carolina home health agencies also establish qualification and training requirements for their aides.
For students starting from scratch, CNA training is often the better long-term option.
South Carolina requires approved CNA programs to provide at least 100 hours of training, typically consisting of 60 hours of classroom and laboratory instruction and 40 hours of clinical experience.
A CNA can pursue home health positions while also qualifying for opportunities in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, assisted living communities, hospice organizations, and other healthcare settings.
Charleston students have several programs worth comparing.
How Much Does Home Health Aide Training Cost in Charleston?
Charleston students can spend anywhere from $0 to around $2,000 or more depending on how they enter the field.
Current local CNA training prices include approximately:
- NHC HealthCare Charleston: potentially $0 through employer-sponsored training
- PATCH Career Institute: $988
- Integrity Healthcare Training Center: $1,150
- Trident Technical College: $2,000
- Carmichael Medical Training: current tuition should be confirmed
The South Carolina CNA competency examination costs approximately $140 if it is not included with tuition.
The exam consists of:
- Written or oral examination: approximately $45
- Clinical skills examination: approximately $95
Additional expenses can add another $100 to $500 depending on the program.
These may include:
- Scrubs
- Non-slip shoes
- Background check
- Drug screening
- TB testing
- Physical examination
- Immunizations
- CPR or BLS
- Textbooks
- Stethoscope
- Blood pressure cuff
- Watch with a second hand
A realistic self-pay budget for becoming a CNA in Charleston is approximately $1,100 to $2,300.
Employer-sponsored training can reduce that amount dramatically.
South Carolina Home Health Aide Requirements
South Carolina does not issue a standalone state HHA license in the same way it maintains a formal Nurse Aide Registry for CNAs.
Instead, qualification requirements depend partly on the type of agency providing the care.
A licensed home health agency provides healthcare-related services to patients in their homes.
Home Health Aides working in these environments provide personal care under the supervision of an RN or licensed therapist.
For Medicare-certified home health work, the commonly used federal training standard is at least 75 total hours.
Training generally includes topics such as:
- Communication
- Observation and reporting
- Recording vital signs
- Infection control
- Emergency procedures
- Personal hygiene
- Safe transfers
- Ambulation
- Range-of-motion assistance
- Nutrition
- Skin care
- Activities of daily living
- Maintaining a safe home environment
At least 16 hours of supervised practical training are required under the federal training framework.
Students should be careful when comparing this with non-medical caregiver training.
South Carolina also regulates in-home care providers that primarily help clients with personal rather than medical needs.
Someone assisting with bathing, dressing, walking, meal preparation, or companionship may work under different training rules from an HHA employed by a Medicare-certified home health agency.
This is why an eight-hour caregiver certificate is not automatically equivalent to formal HHA preparation.
CNA Requirements in South Carolina
South Carolina has more specific requirements for Certified Nurse Aides.
Students normally need to complete a state-approved Nurse Aide Training Program containing at least 100 hours.
That training typically includes:
- 60 hours of classroom and laboratory instruction
- 40 hours of supervised clinical training
After completing the program, students must pass the South Carolina NNAAP competency examination.
The exam has two major sections.
The knowledge examination costs approximately $45.
The clinical skills examination costs approximately $95.
The total testing cost is approximately $140.
Candidates must pass both portions to be listed as Certified Nurse Aides on the South Carolina Nurse Aide Registry.
Students generally have up to three attempts to pass the required examinations within the permitted testing period.
Failure to qualify within the allowed period can result in the student needing to repeat an approved 100-hour training program.
HHA vs. CNA in Charleston
If your only goal is providing companionship or basic personal assistance in someone’s home, becoming a CNA may not always be necessary.
Non-medical in-home care positions can have lower entry requirements.
However, students who want the strongest career flexibility should seriously consider CNA certification.
A CNA can potentially work in:
- Home health agencies
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Hospitals
- Rehabilitation centers
- Hospice organizations
- Assisted living communities
- Long-term care facilities
- Private-duty care
This becomes particularly important if you discover after six months that home health is not for you.
Someone with only employer-specific caregiver training may need additional education before moving into another healthcare setting.
A CNA already has a recognized South Carolina credential that can transfer between many healthcare employers.
Home Health Aide Salary in Charleston
Charleston pays home-care workers somewhat better than South Carolina as a whole.
Home Health and Personal Care Aides in the Charleston-North Charleston metropolitan area have a median wage of approximately $16.40 per hour.
That equals around $34,100 per year for full-time year-round employment.
The local wage distribution is roughly:
- 10th percentile: $12.54 per hour
- 25th percentile: $14.24 per hour
- Median: $16.40 per hour
- 75th percentile: $17.00 per hour
- 90th percentile: $17.86 per hour
CNAs generally earn more.
Nursing Assistants in the Charleston-North Charleston area have a median wage of approximately $18.66 per hour.
That equals approximately $38,810 per year.
Higher-paid CNAs around the 75th percentile earn approximately $21.18 per hour, while workers around the 90th percentile earn roughly $22.58 per hour.
The difference between the median HHA/PCA wage and CNA wage is approximately:
- $2.26 per hour
- or roughly:
- $4,700 per year
- for someone working full time.
Individual employers can pay more.
Current Charleston-area CNA positions can reach approximately $18 to $21 per hour, while some home-care CNA assignments can exceed $20 per hour depending on the client, experience, schedule, and responsibilities.
That wage difference is another reason I would strongly consider CNA training instead of limiting yourself to basic caregiver education.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Home Health Aide in Charleston?
The answer depends on which pathway you choose.
Basic non-medical caregiver training can sometimes be completed in only a few days.
Formal Home Health Aide preparation for Medicare-certified work generally involves at least 75 hours.
CNA training requires at least 100 hours in South Carolina.
Current Charleston-area schedules show how quickly that can be completed:
- NHC HealthCare Charleston: approximately 3 weeks
- PATCH Career Institute: approximately 6 weeks
- Integrity Healthcare Training Center: approximately 6 weeks
- Trident Technical College: approximately 7 to 8 weeks
After completing CNA training, students still need to pass the South Carolina competency examination.
A motivated Charleston student can therefore realistically go from having no healthcare experience to becoming eligible for CNA certification in roughly one to two months.
Free CNA and Home Health Aide Training in Charleston
Before paying tuition, check employer-sponsored options.
NHC HealthCare Charleston is particularly important because it operates its own state-approved training program.
Instead of spending $1,000 to $2,000 at a school, accepted students may be able to complete training through the facility itself.
Nursing homes have a strong incentive to train CNAs because staffing demand is high.
Federal reimbursement rules can also require qualifying nursing facilities to cover or reimburse CNA training and examination expenses for employees and certain people who have accepted employment.
Charleston students should therefore check:
- Nursing homes
- Rehabilitation centers
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Workforce development programs
- SC Works
- SNAP employment and training programs
- Employer tuition reimbursement
- before assuming they need to pay cash for school.
A $1,500 program can be worthwhile, but free employer-sponsored training changes the calculation completely.
Which Charleston Program Offers the Best Value?
For the lowest possible cost, I would check NHC HealthCare Charleston first.
Its approximately three-week employer-sponsored CNA program is unusually fast and can potentially eliminate most of the cost of training.
The disadvantage is that admission is tied to the employer’s staffing needs and selection process.
For students who want to choose a school independently, PATCH Career Institute is one of the strongest budget options at approximately $988.
Integrity Healthcare Training Center is another strong value at approximately $1,150.
Its tuition breakdown is particularly transparent, and both daytime and evening schedules are available.
Trident Technical College costs considerably more at $2,000, but students receive 121.25 hours of training and the structure of a major public technical college.
It makes the most sense for someone who values additional instruction or plans to continue into another healthcare program.
For students living in Mount Pleasant, Carmichael Medical Training is worth checking simply because the shorter commute could save considerable time over several weeks of class.
For someone whose ultimate goal is home health, my preferred strategy would usually be CNA first.
South Carolina requires 100 hours of CNA preparation, only moderately more than the 75-hour federal HHA training benchmark, but CNA certification creates a much broader employment base.
A student can begin in home health, gain experience working one-on-one with clients, and later move into skilled nursing, hospice, rehabilitation, assisted living, or another healthcare environment without starting over academically.
1 Trident Technical College
Trident Technical College offers a Certified Nurse Aide Training Program through its Continuing Education division.
The program prepares students for direct patient-care work under the supervision of nurses and other medical professionals.
Students learn skills such as:
- Measuring and recording vital signs
- Bathing and personal hygiene
- Dressing
- Toileting
- Assistance with meals
- Transfers
- Ambulation
- Infection prevention
- Patient safety
- Bed and linen care
- Communication
- Observation and reporting
Although the program is designed around CNA certification, these skills transfer directly into home health care.
Someone who eventually works with elderly or disabled clients in their homes will use many of these same skills every day.
Program Length
Trident Technical College provides 121.25 hours of training.
This includes approximately 80 hours of classroom and skills instruction plus more than 40 hours of clinical preparation.
The Fall II 2026 program runs from October 13 through December 4, giving students a completion time of roughly 7 to 8 weeks.
This is longer than some private Charleston programs, but students receive more than the South Carolina minimum of 100 hours.
Cost
Current tuition is $2,000.
This makes Trident one of the more expensive CNA options in Charleston.
However, the program is more comprehensive than a bare-bones tuition price might suggest.
Training incorporates Basic Life Support education and extensive practical preparation.
Students should still verify whether their particular session includes every expense associated with certification.
Potential additional or included costs to ask about include:
- Textbooks
- Scrubs
- Stethoscope
- Blood pressure cuff
- Background check
- TB screening
- Drug screening
- State CNA examination
The South Carolina CNA examination currently costs approximately $140 if it is not already included.
Admission Requirements
Students need to satisfy both program and clinical requirements.
Clinical participation can require:
- Identification
- Criminal background screening
- Health documentation
- TB clearance
- Drug screening
- Appropriate vaccinations
- BLS certification
The exact requirements should be completed before the clinical portion begins.
What Makes This Program Worth Considering?
Trident Technical College is the strongest traditional-college option in Charleston.
The 121.25-hour curriculum provides more training than South Carolina’s 100-hour minimum, which can be valuable for someone with absolutely no healthcare experience.
Students who eventually want to continue into another healthcare occupation may also prefer beginning at a technical college rather than a small private training center.
The main disadvantage is price. At $2,000, students should compare Trident carefully with Charleston programs charging around $1,000 to $1,200.
Address: 7000 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29406
2 Integrity Healthcare Training Center
Integrity Healthcare Training Center specializes in Nurse Aide education.
Its program provides the full 100 hours required for South Carolina CNA eligibility.
Training covers basic patient care and the everyday responsibilities CNAs perform, including:
- Activities of daily living
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Toileting
- Feeding
- Vital signs
- Patient mobility
- Personal care
- Safety
- Communication
These are also core skills for home health aides caring for older adults and individuals with disabilities.
Program Length
The program consists of 100 hours.
Both daytime and evening programs take approximately 6 weeks.
Day classes generally meet Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM until noon.
Evening classes generally run Monday through Thursday from 6:00 PM until 10:00 PM.
Clinical schedules differ from classroom hours and can require earlier daytime attendance.
Cost
Integrity provides a useful itemized cost breakdown.
Current charges are approximately:
- Tuition: $960
- Registration: $85
- Uniform: $40
- Books: $65
- Total program cost: approximately $1,150.
That places Integrity about $850 below Trident Technical College’s current $2,000 CNA price.
Students should ask whether the $140 South Carolina CNA examination is included.
If it must be paid separately, the basic training and testing total would rise to approximately $1,290.
Other health or screening expenses could increase the final cost further.
Admission Requirements
Students must generally:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Provide two forms of government-issued identification
- Be legally authorized to live or work in the United States
- Pass the required criminal-background screening
- Provide a negative PPD test or qualifying chest X-ray
- A high school diploma or GED is not required.
That makes Integrity accessible to students who might not qualify for programs with stricter academic admission standards.
What Makes This Program Worth Considering?
Integrity provides one of the better combinations of price, scheduling, and accessibility in Charleston.
The program meets South Carolina’s 100-hour CNA requirement while costing approximately $1,150.
Day and evening schedules are available, and students do not need a high school diploma or GED.
For someone who wants an affordable CNA pathway without attending a college-based program, Integrity should be near the top of the list.
Address: 3294 Ashley Phosphate Road, Suite 1A, North Charleston, SC 29418
3 PATCH Career Institute
PATCH Career Institute offers a Nurse Aide Training Program designed to prepare students for South Carolina CNA certification.
The curriculum includes subjects such as:
- Basic nursing skills
- OSHA procedures
- Residents’ rights
- CPR
- Patient handling
- Clinical documentation
- Infection recognition
- Infection control
- Body mechanics
- Diet and nutrition
Students complete classroom instruction along with supervised clinical training.
The program prepares graduates for work in settings that can include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, private homes, hospice organizations, clinics, and other healthcare environments.
Program Length
The Nurse Aide program takes approximately 6 weeks.
Morning classes generally run Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Evening classes run from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
The presence of an evening schedule can be particularly helpful for students who need to continue working while completing healthcare training.
Cost
Current Nurse Aide tuition is approximately $988.
That makes PATCH one of the least expensive self-pay CNA options in the Charleston area.
Students should not assume that $988 represents the final amount needed to become certified.
The South Carolina competency examination can add approximately $140 if it is not included.
Students may also need money for:
- Background screening
- TB testing
- Drug screening
- Uniforms
- Shoes
- Supplies
- CPR certification
A reasonable budget would be roughly $1,100 to $1,400 depending on which items are included in the student’s enrollment package.
PATCH also offers payment plans for many of its courses, and tuition assistance may be available to certain students.
Admission Requirements
Students generally must be at least 18 years old.
A high school diploma or GED is not required for enrollment.
Students should be aware, however, that individual employers may still prefer or require a high school diploma or equivalent even if the training school does not.
Applicants should also be prepared for criminal background and clinical eligibility requirements.
What Makes This Program Worth Considering?
Price is the biggest attraction.
At approximately $988, PATCH costs around half of what Trident currently charges for its CNA program.
The six-week schedule and evening classes are also practical for working adults.
For a student primarily interested in obtaining CNA certification as inexpensively as possible, PATCH is one of the first Charleston-area programs I would compare.
Address: North Charleston, SC 29405
4 NHC HealthCare Charleston
NHC HealthCare Charleston operates its own state-approved Nurse Aide training program.
Unlike a traditional career school, NHC is an actual skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility.
Students therefore train within an organization that regularly employs CNAs rather than attending a school that simply prepares graduates to search for jobs elsewhere.
The program begins with classroom education and transitions into direct clinical training.
Program Length
NHC’s current Charleston training program is extremely fast.
The class takes approximately 3 weeks.
Weeks 1 and 2 focus primarily on classroom and textbook instruction.
During week 3, students transition into hands-on clinical care.
The first two weeks generally run from approximately:
8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
Clinical training during the third week generally runs from:
7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
Because the program is so compressed, attendance requirements are strict.
Cost
NHC’s CNA training is employer-sponsored, making it potentially the least expensive option in Charleston.
Students accepted into sponsored training may complete the program without paying normal private-school tuition.
That can represent savings of roughly $1,000 to $2,000 compared with attending a conventional CNA school.
Students should confirm the details of the current class before applying, including:
- Whether training is completely free
- Whether students are paid during training
- Whether the examination fee is covered
- Whether employment is required after graduation
- Whether uniforms and books are included
Federal rules can also require qualifying Medicare or Medicaid nursing facilities to cover or reimburse nurse aide training and testing expenses under certain employment circumstances.
Admission Requirements
Applicants for the current Charleston program should be prepared to provide:
- Completed application
- Valid photo identification
- Social Security card
- High school diploma or GED
Students must also pass background and abuse-registry screening.
Attendance expectations are strict.
The program currently requires students to maintain approximately an 80% grade average in order to remain in the class.
Because seats can be connected to facility staffing needs, simply meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.
What Makes This Program Worth Considering?
The combination of free or employer-sponsored training, a three-week schedule, and direct access to employment makes NHC arguably the most attractive option in Charleston for someone who qualifies.
The tradeoff is flexibility.
A private school allows you to enroll, pay tuition, complete training, and then choose where you want to work.
Employer-sponsored training may involve a competitive selection process and can come with employment expectations.
Still, I would investigate NHC before paying $1,000 or more for CNA school.
Address: 2230 Ashley Crossing Drive, Charleston, SC 29414
5 Carmichael Medical Training
Carmichael Medical Training is a state-approved healthcare training provider located in Mount Pleasant.
The school provides Nurse Aide training and has also participated in workforce and apprenticeship programs involving Home Health Aides and Nursing Assistants.
The Mount Pleasant location makes it particularly convenient for students living east of the Cooper River.
Program Length
South Carolina-approved Nurse Aide training requires at least 100 hours.
Students considering Carmichael should request the current 2026 class schedule and determine how those hours are divided between classroom, laboratory, and clinical instruction.
Private CNA programs in the Charleston area typically take around 4 to 8 weeks depending on the number of class hours offered each week.
Cost
Carmichael does not currently publish a clear standard 2026 Nurse Aide tuition figure that can be reliably compared with the other programs on this list.
Students should therefore request an itemized price before enrolling.
Ask for separate figures covering:
- Tuition
- Registration
- Books
- Uniforms
- Background checks
- Drug screening
- TB testing
- CPR or BLS
- CNA examination
- Clinical supplies
Carmichael has participated in workforce programs, so students receiving SNAP, workforce assistance, or other employment-training benefits should also ask whether they qualify for funding.
Admission Requirements
Applicants should expect the normal eligibility requirements associated with South Carolina CNA training.
Clinical placement typically requires health and background clearance.
Students should verify the school’s current age, educational, identification, and screening requirements before paying a deposit.
What Makes This Program Worth Considering?
Location is the main advantage.
A student living in Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island, or nearby communities may prefer training on the east side of Charleston rather than commuting to North Charleston.
The school’s participation in workforce initiatives also makes it worth investigating for students who might qualify for tuition assistance.
Address: 1501 Belle Isle Avenue, Suite 110, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Schools Summary Table
| Rank | School | |
|---|---|---|
|
#1 | Trident Technical College |
|
#2 | Integrity Healthcare Training Center |
|
#3 | PATCH Career Institute |
|
#4 | NHC HealthCare Charleston |
|
#5 | Carmichael Medical Training |
Read the full guide: How to Become a Home Health Aide
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