Top 10 stories of 2023: RMC-MUSC merger, school construction among picks

The Charleston-based medical school and hospital chain assumed management of the hospital March 1. It immediately launched an “It’s a New Day” marketing campaign to change the public’s perception of the Orangeburg hospital.

MUSC Health’s takeover of the Orangeburg hospital and its subsequent changes ranked as the top story for The T&D Region in 2023.

“Since I arrived in June, I have made it a priority to visit the communities in our service area and speak to people about MUSC Health’s mission and vision,” MUSC Health-Orangeburg Chief Executive Officer Walter Bennett III said.

“We want everyone to know that we are working diligently to earn their trust and that our providers and staff are focused on ensuring the best possible care for every patient. These efforts are yielding results as we have seen a significant increase in our patient engagement scores,” he said.

Over the past several months, the hospital has rolled out telehealth urgent and specialty care services, hired new providers for multiple ambulatory locations, opened a walk-in orthopedic clinic and established two new service lines.

“Our goal is to keep care close to home,” Bennett said. “Having the support of an entire health care system allows us to expand and offer new specialty care services that weren’t previously available in the Orangeburg area.”

The hospital also entered into a partnership with the Orangeburg County School District to provide athletic trainers at high schools. It has also added a sports medicine component.

Other service line upgrades announced by the hospital include the expansion of its hospitalist program. Hospitalists are doctors who take care of patients while in the hospital.

Other plans for the hospital include the opening of a sickle cell clinic and a wound-care center.

Hospital officials have also announced plans to improve the OB/GYN service line as well as to expand neurosurgery.

Outside of expanding service lines, the hospital has sought to improve its culture of patient care and patient experience.

One focus has been on shortening wait times in the hospital’s emergency room through a public educational campaign on when to use and not to use the emergency room.

The hospital is offering employees classes on culture and patient engagement, as well as accountability sessions with leaders. It’s also working to improve community relations through outreach at town hall, government and civic club meetings and health fair events.

The hospital is also working to improve its finances by reducing its reliance on costly travel or contract nurses in an effort to reduce expenses.

Hospital leaders have been given a three-year turnaround plan to improve the hospital’s situation.

The MUSC and RMC partnership was the result of a budget proviso spearheaded by Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, and passed by the S.C. General Assembly in 2022 in an effort to ensure the hospital remains solvent.

Both Orangeburg and Calhoun county councils gave unanimous approval to the partnership. Orangeburg and Calhoun counties jointly own the hospital.

Under the partnership, MUSC is leasing the hospital from the counties for $1 a year for the next 99 years.

“Bringing Orangeburg into the MUSC Health enterprise was a great achievement in 2023,” MUSC Health CEO Dr. Pat Cawley said. “While patients continue to access quality health care from the local providers they’ve known and trusted for years in Orangeburg, the hospital’s staff and leaders are now supported by a bigger family, allowing access to innovative medical services and more stable resources.”

“We are excited to see continued growth, investment and improved health care in this community,” Cawley said.

The other top stories of 2023 for The T&D Region include:

No. 2: OCSD construction

The Orangeburg County School District broke ground on a number of school construction projects thanks to the $190 million referendum approved by county voters in 2022.

The district also settled on a location for the construction of a new Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School despite concerns from neighboring residents about the school’s placement.

The new, $117 million O-W High School will be a two-story, 280,209-square-foot facility. Construction is projected to begin around February 2024 and with completion targeted for the late summer of 2026.

The school will be located on about 89 acres on Cook Road, near the hospital and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.

Some neighbors expressed concerns that they were not properly consulted ahead of time about the school’s location. School district officials defended the site selection.

Other projects include:

• A new, two-story, 26,350-square-foot addition to the William J. Clark Middle School.

The targeted completion date of the $9.2 million project is December 2024.

The school will become the home of middle school-level students throughout the central area of the county, including students previously zoned for Howard Middle School.

• A new, 20,500-square-foot wing addition to Lake Marion High School.

The $7.6 million addition will house about 500 middle school students and will become Lake Marion Middle School.

The targeted opening date is August 2024.

• The construction of the East Lake Elementary School in Holly Hill.

The two-story, 106,000-square-foot school will be built at 1490 Brant Ave. and will house 750 students, with the possibility of expanding to serve 900.

The $40 million school is projected to open in the fall of 2025.

School district officials also celebrated the groundbreaking of new athletic turf fields at five of its high schools.

Groundbreakings were held at Edisto, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, Lake Marion, Bethune-Bowman Middle/High and Branchville. The new O-W will also get a new field.

No. 3: Railroad Corner

The redevelopment of Orangeburg’s historic Railroad Corner got a significant funding boost from a federal grant in 2023 as developers promised the project is moving forward despite delays.

In June 2023, it was announced the project would receive a $22.8 million federal grant to build a pedestrian bridge connecting Railroad Corner to both South Carolina State and Claflin universities.

The bridge will be built over Magnolia Street and the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks.

In addition to the bridge, the project will include a new public transit stop and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and bicycles.

Construction on the bridge is projected to begin in 2024.

City leaders have long talked about the need to develop the area where Russell, Boulevard and Magnolia streets meet. They consider it a gateway to the city.

Over the past four years, the city purchased about 2.2 acres on the corner to help lock down its plans for revitalization.

Project developers informed Orangeburg City Council during its November meeting that due diligence work has been done on the property in preparation for construction.

Early construction and site work on the housing and retail development is targeted to begin in January, with full-scale construction targeted for the end of March 2024.

The project will include the construction of two 40,000-square foot, six-floor buildings that will serve as student housing for the universities. The lower floor of the buildings will include retail and office space.

A permanent parking garage that will have space for 200 to 300 cars is also envisioned.

The plans also call for a dine-in restaurant with an arts ambiance and décor.

The corner will also include a civil rights museum.

Plans also include the creation of walk-through opportunities with urban and plaza spaces.

The redevelopment proposal is projected to cost about $18.2 million, with an anticipated public investment of between $4.5 million and $5 million.

No.4: Orangeburg County construction

Orangeburg County has spent much of 2023 clearing and buying properties in the downtown Orangeburg area for the future home of a brand-new, $57 million county courthouse.

Orangeburg County has purchased a total of 5.5 acres for the future courthouse. The total cost has been about $2.5 million.

The former Winn-Dixie on Russell Street and the former Thunderbird motel on Orange Street, behind the Dairy-O, were demolished to pave the way for the project.

Earlier this year, the county also purchased and demolished the Palmetto Inn and Suites on John C. Calhoun Drive.

In October 2023, Orangeburg County Council also approved the purchase of the A-Town Wings restaurant building and adjacent parking lot.

The county has not decided if the courthouse will face Russell Street or John C. Calhoun Drive.

In April 2023, the county approved borrowing $7.3 million for the first phase of construction to include demolition of existing structures, architecture, engineering and surveying costs.

Orangeburg County announced plans to build a new courthouse in February 2022. The existing courthouse on Amelia Street, which is deemed to be beyond its useful life, will serve as storage space once a new courthouse is built.

The construction of the courthouse building could cost more than $38 million. Amenities such as information technology, furniture, fixtures, equipment and security could bring the total to $57 million.

The county plans to pay for the project through an installment revenue purchase bond. County officials say the method should allow it to pay for the courthouse without a tax increase by using fee-in-lieu of taxes revenue from industries.

The county also broke ground on a $4.4 million, 50,000-square-foot industrial speculative building in the Western Orangeburg County Industrial Park near Neeses.

It will be the first speculative building at the 230-acre industrial park near S.C. Highway 389 and U.S. Highway 321.

Construction is expected to end in August 2024.

No. 5: Husqvarna changes

Orangeburg’s largest manufacturer, Husqvarna Consumer Outdoor Products, announced in 2023 it was transitioning its plant from making gas-powered equipment to electric equipment.

The company announced it is investing a minimum of $50 million and creating 200 new jobs at its Old Elloree Road plant.

The company also consolidated its North American footprint in the Orangeburg plant, which will take over portions of the company’s hand-held production/assembly.

Earlier in the year, the company laid off between 200 and 230 employees as part of the transition process.

The Old Elloree Road plant currently employs about 800.

The plant manufactures lawnmowers, chainsaws and other lawn and garden equipment.

The company says its electrification efforts aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the company by 35% by 2025.

No. 6: Bamberg County building

Bamberg County dedicated its new, $3.3 million Ed Darnell Law Enforcement Center at the end of July. The center is located at 509 North St. in Bamberg.

The more than 8,000-square-foot law enforcement center is a part of the larger complex that’s being developed from the county’s former hospital.

Plans call for the complex to include the county’s health department, veterans affairs office and coroner’s office.

The project was paid for with capital project sales tax money and a S.C. Department of Commerce grant.

Darnell, who was the longest-serving sheriff in South Carolina, and the nation’s third longest-serving sheriff, died at age 85 on July 12, 2022.

The hospital closed in April 2012.

No. 7: Claflin University student center

Construction on Claflin University’s new, 85,000-square-foot student center was in full swing in 2023.

The $30 million, three-story building located at the corner of Goff Avenue and Magnolia Street will include a one-screen movie theater that will show first-run movies. It will have 180 seats, including wheelchair-accessible seating.

Alongside the multipurpose theater, the center will also include a ballroom, Papa John’s pizza, Starbucks, Qdoba restaurant and a convenience store.

Ground was broken in March 2022.

The project was substantially complete at the end of November with a targeted opening sometime in January. An exact date has not been set.

The center was partly paid for through a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan and through fundraising.

No. 8: I-26 widening begins

The S.C. Department of Transportation kicked off the widening of Interstate 26, which includes portions of the interstate running through Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

The estimated $2 billion project will expand a majority of the four-lane interstate to six lanes between Columbia and Charleston.

SCDOT is proposing improvements to I-26 beginning just south of the Caw Caw Road interchange at Exit 136 and ending south of the U.S. 601 (St. Matthews Road) interchange at Exit 145.

SCDOT says the purpose of this project is to alleviate existing and future congestion, address geometric deficiencies at the interchanges by bringing them up to current interstate design standards and improve road safety.

Right-of-way acquisition for the project will begin in the summer of 2024 and construction begins in the summer of 2025. Construction will last about 2-1/2 years, according to officials.

No. 9: Bernard Haire retires

Orangeburg City Councilman Bernard Haire officially retired from his seat in September after more than three decades on council.

Haire, 82, first joined council in 1988.

Haire was recognized at his last meeting with a framed resolution, a gold watch and two 35-year service pins.

Haire was joined by his family for the presentation.

He cited one of his favorite accomplishments: preventing the highway department from making Boulevard Street a one-way street at the intersection with Russell.

Haire said he was pleased with his efforts to ensure Norfolk Southern trains were kept accountable for safe operations through the city limits and that he was able to keep DPU rates relatively low compared to other cities.

Haire’s District 4 seat was filled by Annette Dees Grevious, a professor of speech and drama at Claflin University.

No. 10: Dr. Kenny Kinsey

Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dr. Kenny Kinsey served as a star expert witness in the double murder trial of disbarred Hampton County attorney Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh. The trial gripped the nation in 2023.

Kinsey was also named the S.C. Deputy of the Year by the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association. Kinsey said he was nominated for the award for his role in the Murdaugh trial.

Kinsey then retired in September after 30 years as a law enforcement officer.

After retirement, Kinsey continued with his work with his private consulting business, Kenny Kinsey & Associates LLC.