NHC Healthcare - Bluffton: Behavioral Health Gaps - SC
The resident, identified in inspection records as R6, had a psychiatric services referral submitted in July 2025. He did not begin receiving those services until after the facility switched to a new behavioral health company. By the time inspectors interviewed staff on January 30, the social worker said she was "unsure of why the resident was not seen by psychiatric services sooner."
The administrator was less uncertain. She told inspectors the facility had changed behavioral health vendors and lost its Social Work Director during the same period, and that the combination of those two events caused the delay.
In May 2025, staff had completed a suicide assessment after R6 said he felt like he no longer wanted to live. He scored low risk and had no stated intent to harm himself. A second consent form for behavioral health services was not completed until November 2025, four months after the referral.
R6 told inspectors he has anxiety and that frustration with staff sometimes causes him to lose his temper. "I have anxiety and at times when I feel frustrated I can blow up," he said. "Some staff understand me but a lot of them don't. I don't mean to get upset but they should not take this personally, but some do."
His care plan, last revised in December 2025, lists interventions including psychology and behavioral health participation, validation, and redirection. The social worker told inspectors she talks with R6 about coping strategies when he is upset and has reminded him about Resident Council as an outlet.
Inspectors cited the violation at the minimal harm level. R6 remained at the facility.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Nhc Healthcare - Bluffton from 2026-01-30 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: August 9, 2026 · Our methodology
NHC Healthcare - Bluffton in Okatie, SC was cited for violations during a health inspection on January 30, 2026.
The resident, identified in inspection records as R6, had a psychiatric services referral submitted in July 2025.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.