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Summerville Medical Center will celebrate the launch of its $66.8 million, 56-bed inpatient construction project on Nov. 9 with a ceremony to include signing a steal beam that will be incorporated into the building.

The project will increase licensed patient bed count by 40%.

The hospital, which has invested more than $200 million in the past decade to expand their facility, services and workforce, said in a news release the project will lead to 174 licensed beds. Construction is expected to be complete in 2025.

“This year we are proudly celebrating our 30th anniversary serving families in Summerville and the Tri-County area,” CEO Jeff Taylor said in a news release when the project was announced in April. “Summerville Medical Center is situated in one of the fastest growing areas in Charleston, and as we work to meet the health needs of our community, it is vital that we add capacity and clinical programs. We are committed to providing the highest quality and most comprehensive care in the heart of Dorchester County for all those who need us, for many years to come.”

Project details include 30 medical/surgical private beds in the existing third floor space, 14 intensive care unit beds on a new fourth floor, 12 progressive care unit beds on the new fourth floor and a new fifth-floor shell space for future expansion.

The project will add 64,000 square feet of new space, the release stated.

“In the past three years, the need for health care services has grown tremendously as our community has grown,” Maury Baker, chief operating officer at Summerville Medical Center, said in the release. “We are excited to offer our patients private, state-of-the art rooms to complement our exceptional medical staff and care team. The additional capacity will allow us to grow our existing programs and add new services.”

Summerville Medical Center is a 124-bed, acute-care hospital serving families in Dorchester and Berkeley counties and surrounding communities for 30 years. The hospital has a 24-hour emergency room, including a dedicated ER for children, and a range of surgical services and comprehensive medical services.

“This investment is a testament to the impact that every single member of our team has on our community,” Chief Nursing Officer Theresa Kloewer said in the release. “Each day they provide the highest level of care and compassion for every person who walks through our doors. I am proud of the care they have provided over the past 30 years and will continue to provide in the future.”

Summerville Medical Center is part of Charleston-based Trident Health.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Former President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign event in Summerville Monday predicting a record-breaking win in the South Carolina Primary as he campaigned for a second term as commander-in-chief.

Trump is speaking Monday afternoon at Sportsman Boats in his first visit to South Carolina since the Silver Elephant Gala last month.

He told the crowd that his last two years in office were the best two years South Carolina boat builders and South Carolina businesses have ever had, saying that boat builders couldn’t make the boats fast enough.

“When I left the office business was roaring like a 400 horsepower Mercury outboard motor,” Trump said. “But then the economy slammed into a pile of rocks known as crooked Joe Biden.”

He promised to end Biden’s “war on American energy” and reclaim energy independence.

“In other words, we will drill, baby, drill,” he said.

Trump said he won South Carolina twice by record numbers and pledged to do it again.

“We did phenomenally here. We’ve always done well here and we’re going to do it at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” he said. “So we broke the record twice. We’re going to break it a third time. We’re going to break our own record.”

He said he intends to “take back our country and we’re going to make America great again.”

Before Trump’s speech, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster told the crowd he went into the State House about a month after Trump went into the White House.

“And South Carolina has been booming ever since,” he said. “But then in January 2021, everything changed.”

McMaster said his administration has had to fight the Biden Administration “every day.” He cited the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for military personnel, and accused it of destroying the nation’s borders and the nation’s energy independence.

“From 2016 until now, [the Biden Administration] has been doing anything and everything they could, legal, illegal, ethical, unethical, unheard of, unprecedented, to do one thing: That includes two bogus impeachments and full-of-baloney indictments to do what? To stop one man, to stop our man from being president of the United States,” McMaster said.

Dorchester County deputies said earlier on Monday that Trump’s visit to Summerville would cause delays on Highway 78 from Summerville east of Berlin G. Myers Parkway to Jedburg Road at Mallard Road. Drivers in the area are asked to search for alternate routes if they don’t live or work along Highway 78 and are encouraged to use other entrances to neighborhoods in the area.

Traffic delays are expected to last through about 5 p.m. Monday but the delays could be extended.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Monday marks the start of early voting for what has proved to be a controversial referendum for the Dorchester School District Two community.

Every weekday through May 10, voters will be able to make their voices heard ahead of time at the Marcia O’Brien Conference Center from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. That center is located at 200 Stadium Circle in Summerville, behind Summerville Elementary School. The special election will be held on May 14.

The Dorchester School District Two Board of Trustees approved a resolution to hold this election in the hopes of addressing issues caused by Dorchester County’s rapid growth, including overcrowding, high student-to-teacher ratios and aging school infrastructure.

The question on the ballot reads as follows:

Shall the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 of Dorchester County, South Carolina (the “School District”) be empowered to issue, at one time or from time to time, general obligation bonds of the School District, in a principal amount of not exceeding $200,000,000, the proceeds of which shall be used to finance the costs (including architectural, engineering, legal and related fees, and land acquisition, if necessary) of the following:

In the slideshow created by school district officials to better explain the need for the referendum and how it would achieve the district’s goals, data regarding current enrollment shows that three different schools in the district are over capacity and several are at or near theirs.

Additionally, the slides cite new housing developments and planned developments to show that growth is set to continue at what they say is an unsustainable rate.

The district says it has been working toward this referendum, its first in 12 years, since 2020 as they began to complete comprehensive studies of their facilities and demographics in preparation for this referendum.

It also says it has planned financially for this referendum.

Several signs asking people to “Vote Yes For Schools,” were vandalized last week shortly after they were put up, with some marking through the messaging completely and others writing “Vote No For Tax.”

“Dorchester Two Citizens for School Improvements”, the group asking community members to vote yes for the referendum, is holding a press conference in Hutchinson Square in Summerville on Monday at 5 p.m.

District officials say this referendum is the first of its kind with no tax or millage rate increases.

The school district has provided several educational resources for those who wish to vote on the matter, including a slideshow, a video and additional information that can be accessed in an FAQ document.

To vote on this referendum, ID is required, as well as a valid voter registration and having been registered more than 30 days ahead of the May 14 vote.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Former and current residents at a Summerville apartment complex are sharing their stories, alleging bad communication from management and deteriorating conditions, after seeing one woman come forward about a mold problem.

In March, Breanna McCalla detailed a mold problem that she says forced her to move her family out of the Latitude at Wescott.

Madison Harriss says she experienced something similar when she spotted mold in her unit.

“When I first saw it, I started off by sending emails to the front office just letting them know about it. I also made a couple of trips into the office to talk to someone as well,” Harris says.

Harris feels she did everything right when she first saw mold nearly a year after she moved in. She says it took months of emailing and visiting the office to get someone in her unit to check out the issue.

“And it was frustrating because all they did was paint over it with some KILZ and called it a day. So it didn’t feel like it was resolved because it came back shortly after,” Harris says.

Harris says the mold and mildew-resistant paint job was too little too late, and when her lease was up in 2021, she left but took her story with her and shared her experience with anyone asking about living in the area.

While current resident Casey Hendricks says she hasn’t seen mold, her communication problems started before she even got on the property.

“Within three days of our move-in date, they told me that we could no longer have the three-bedroom apartment on the first floor they instead were moving us to a two-bedroom apartment temporarily on the third floor, which made it really difficult with two little kids and a dog,” Hendricks says.

Despite paying her deposit and hiring movers, Hendricks’ family was in a space too small. When they were finally allowed to relocate to a 3-bedroom months later, further communication issues cost her hundreds of dollars. Her moving company spent hours sitting in the parking lot on the day of the switch, waiting for management to allow them into the unit. When the company ran out of time that day, Hendricks had to pay movers to come back.

Once inside, Hendricks says the conditions were concerning. She pointed out water stains and missing vanity draws and knobs.

“The vanity that was never fixed. It was like this when we moved in. I did do a walk-through with the property manager and she is aware of this as of last November and when I moved in and it still has not been repaired,” Hendricks says.

Now Hendricks is facing mounting water and sewer bills, more than quadruple what she budgeted as average cost, and she wants answers. But with no repairs to her apartment yet, she doesn’t think she’ll ever get the help she’s asking for.

“So many other apartments are filled with mold. It definitely makes you wonder what might be out there in your air ducts and stuff that you’re not seeing,” Hendricks says.

Harris says while she lived there, she faced other maintenance issues besides mold like Hendricks.

“It just felt like they really didn’t care to fix the problem,” Harris says.

Latitude at Wescott management declined to comment when asked to answer questions for this story.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Matt Halter, a local business owner and engineer, said he decided to run for office because he believes his resume qualifies him to tackle many of Summerville’s current problems.

“I also believe your representative should be elected by you, not appointed by a select few elitists and those currently in power,” he said. “It’s time we had more than just figureheads in our local government – we need rock-solid leaders fighting for the best interests of our town and its taxpayers.”

Halter said that, over time, Summerville’s leadership “has bloated our government to the point of dysfunction” and has “recklessly allowed developers to overrun our town, bringing with them unmanageable traffic and a maze of red tape.”

“This is not leadership; it is a failure to serve the public interest,” he said. “While I support change and growth, the growth Summerville’s leaders approve needs to be in the best interest of our town. Some development can actually add to the value of our town, while apartment home communities, for example, add major traffic concerns, overrun our schools and produce housing that is not affordable, driving up the cost of rent and home ownership.”

A resume provided to the Journal Scene by Halter shows experience in government, the private sector and as a small business owner.

“I’m not an elitist in a line of politicians – I’m a regular citizen,” he said. “It’s time to bring strength and common sense back to our council. It’s time your family’s needs outweigh the wants of a privileged few. This is not about politics as usual; it’s about restoring a government that works for its people and bridges that gap between government and its citizens so that the government is ‘of the people, by the people and for the people. We need a government that listens, acts and delivers. I’m rock-solid and here to ensure Summerville thrives for all its residents.”

Halter has been married to his wife, Donna, for 32 years. She is an elementary school teacher in Dorchester School District 2 and manages the books for their business, Benchmark LDS.

Their son, Matt Jr., is a civil engineer, and their daughter, Lauren, is a registered nurse. Matt and Donna have two grandchildren.

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Matt is a graduate of Stratford High School and The Citadel. He became a registered professional engineer, land surveyor and licensed general contractor. His career began in Charleston, where, as an engineer and stormwater superintendent, he led projects and managed a team of more than 80 employees.

Matt went to work for the town of Summerville in 1996 as the town engineer and public works director. During this time, he wrote the town’s first development standards and founded the South Carolina Association of Stormwater Managers.

Matt ventured into the private sector in 2004, applying his engineering, land surveying and project management experience as the owner and president of Benchmark LDS.

“One of my more notable contributions was the design and construction of the Summerville Miracle League field on South Laurel Street,” he said. “This project wasn’t just about building a field; it was about creating a space where everyone in the community, regardless of their abilities, could come together and enjoy the spirit of the game.”

As one of the founding board members and president of the Summerville Miracle League, Matt, along with a team of citizens, raised more than $500,000 for the field, which was a joint venture between the town and private entities, which he said showcases his ability to “lead, collaborate and deliver.”

He has served on the Dorchester County Transportation Authority and was a multiple-term member of the town’s Commercial Design Review Board.

“In every role, I have demonstrated a consistent commitment to the betterment of Summerville,” he said. “My actions and achievements speak volumes about my dedication, making me not just a candidate for the town council but a true steward of the community’s well-being and future.”