VOLUME 13 NUMBER 6 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM
Money on the way
USC says most students will see refunds by April 22. Page 2
Part of the
APRIL 13-26, 2020 ■ $2.25
network
SPECIAL REPORT: COPING WITH COVID PAGES 13-20 USC engineers CONSTRUCTION PRESSING help fast-track ON AMID GROWING CRISIS FDA approval of ventilator tube By Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
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Helping hand
Nephron manufactures, donates hand sanitizer. Page 21
hile construction companies soldier ahead in the COVID-19 crisis, a new industry study is sounding alarm bells about potentially rougher roads ahead. An Associated General Contractors of America study conducted from March 23-25 and released March 27 found 39% of contractors reported that project owners have halted or canceled current jobs. The organization warned that the cancellations were likely to See CONSTRUCTION, Page 24
End in sight?
Judge approves $520 million Santee Cooper settlement. Page 6
Clearer path
Center offers guidance on SBA loan process. Page 8
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 4 In Focus: Architecture, Engineering and Construction ......................23 List: Homebuilders..............25 At Work...............................29 Viewpoint............................ 31
By Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
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n the fourth weekend in March, Hossein Haj-Hariri, the dean of the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering and Computing, got a phone call. On the line was Majorie Jenkins, M.D., chief academic officer for Prisma Health-Upstate and dean of USC’s School of Medicine Greenville. The ensuing conversation was game-changing. Jenkins told Haj-Hariri about a device created by a Prisma emergency medicine physician in collaboration with her husband and a Prisma pulmonary critical care physician that allows four patients to be treated simultaneously on a single ventilator. The VESper uses a “Y” splitter tube to divide air flow among multiple patients. Haj-Hariri Prisma announced the device, produced using 3D printing and aimed at the acute equipment shortages facing medical professionals battling COVID-19, received emergency use approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 25. Prisma sent VESper specifications to engineers at USC and Clemson UniversiSee USC, Page 7
Let the music play
Musicians take art online as nightclubs and restaurants close. Page 10