March 23 - April 5, 2015 • www.charlestonbusiness.com
Volume 21, No. 7 • $2.00
North Charleston campus on MUSC’s horizon By Ashley Heffernan
I Conference preview
S.C. Manufacturing Conference and Expo set for next month. Inside
aheffernan@scbiznews.com
f the Medical University of South Carolina’s plans go according to schedule, a $40 million pediatric medical campus could open in North Charleston as early as summer 2017. A $350 million children’s hospital and
women’s pavilion in downtown Charleston could follow in 2019. Patients across the country increasingly want their health care options to be closer to where they live and are requesting more outpatient ambulatory services than ever before, according to Dr. Patrick Cawley, CEO and executive director of Medical University Hos-
EDUCATING THE PRINCIPAL
pital. To keep up with the changing health care landscape and because the hospital’s pediatric ambulatory clinics in Rutledge Tower in downtown Charleston need to be updated, MUSC is building a campus at the corner of See MUSC, Page 12
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Cell service cost increase creates static By Ashley Heffernan
S
ome cellphone carriers are fighting a bill in the S.C. Senate that Sen. Luke Rankin argues will level the playing field between landline and cellphone companies. Rankin, R-Conway, co-sponsored Bill 277, also known as the State Telecom Equity in Funding Act, in January along with Sens. Thomas Alexander and Brad Hutto. Currently, only landline customers pay a fee into the S.C. Universal Service Fund, which helps landline companies offset the cost of installation and maintenance of telephone lines in rural areas of the state. The new bill would add a similar fee for cellphone customers. Rankin, who also runs a law practice, said businesses are the primary customers for landline carriers and they’re paying a disproportionately higher fee because cellphone customers aren’t paying anything. “When the Universal Service Fund was created almost 20 years ago, the goal was for all citizens to have access to affordable service, and all who used the network would
787 support
Aerospace structural component supplier opens in North Charleston. Page 3
Turmoil at S.C. State
Orangeburg businesses worried about future. Page 10
INSIDE Upfront............................. 2 In Focus: Hospitality and Tourism.................. 15 List: Area Attractions... 20 At Work.......................... 23 People in the News......... 25 Business Digest.............. 26 Viewpoint........................ 27
aheffernan@scbiznews.com
Burke Middle High School Principal Maurice Cannon says he doesn’t know how to talk to his students about the manufacturing industry. That’s why he is building a relationship with DuPont manager Paul Patterson (right). Full story, page 6 Photo/Ashley Heffernan
See CELLPHONE, Page 8
MERCEDES-BENZ VANS PLANT EXPANSION
Rolling into town
Mercedes-Benz Vans brings automotive manufacturing operations to North Charleston along with 1,300 jobs. Page 14
200 ACRES
1,300 $500M jobs
initial investment
of land for a new body shop, paint shop and assembly line
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