Mortgage Broker in Johns Island, SC

Trident Medical Center has submitted a Certificate of Need to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to build a $277 million hospital on Johns Island. The application is for a 50-bed acute care hospital between Maybank Highway and Cane Slash Road, across from the Live Oak Square development.

Projections for Johns Island Hospital show that within the first three years it will create nearly 300 jobs, contribute $10 million in non-income taxes to support the community and pay $70 million in salaries, wages and benefits, the organization said in a release.

“We are excited to continue making medical care more accessible to residents in our historically underserved communities,” Trident Health President and CEO Christina Oh said in the news release. “Currently on Johns Island and neighboring communities, it can take residents 30 to 45 minutes to drive to their nearest hospital, and often longer in heavy traffic and inclement weather. Our goal is to increase access to timely, high quality and affordable health care services.”

Trident Medical Center’s chief of the medical staff and medical director of emergency services, Dr. Scott Hayes, said he sees firsthand the results of delayed care.

“For residents who live far from emergency medical care and who may be experiencing a medical emergency like a heart attack or a stroke, minutes can mean the difference between life and death,” he said in the news release. “Access to care close to home is critical, especially in areas like Johns Island and the surrounding communities, that have frequent traffic delays.”

Trident Health surgeon Dr. Thomas Litton, who lived on Johns Island for 20 years and recently moved from there largely due to increasing traffic congestion and limited access routes off the island, said, “The rapid population growth and development of Johns Island, as well as its role as the sole gateway to Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw Islands, has created a strong need for a full-service hospital in the area. Residents on those islands have never had a full-service hospital. Trident’s hospital on Johns Island and their freestanding ER on James Island will greatly improve residents’ access to much-needed medical care.”

Johns Island Hospital will be located seven miles from James Island Emergency, Trident’s new freestanding ER at 945 Folly Road, Charleston, that will open in the next few weeks.

Plans call for Johns Island Hospital to have 50 beds with space to expand to 150 beds, 40 medical/surgical/stepdown beds, 10 ICU beds, 20 ER rooms, four operating rooms, two endoscopy suites and a cardiac catheterization lab. The hospital also would have two CT scanners, an MRI, two diagnostic radiology suites and a fluoroscopy room.

In addition to the hospital, services would include medical offices for primary care and specialists as well as outpatient imaging and support such as breast imaging, rehabilitation and other outpatient therapy services.

“From our first discussions about building a hospital on Johns Island, we have been committed to creating a thoughtful plan that preserves the natural beauty of Johns Island,” Oh said in the release. “We will honor the strong Gullah Geechee cultures of the community; we will partner with the areas’ community and businesses; and will promote the important and unique contributions of Johns Island’s agricultural community.”

The proposed Johns Island Hospital is in addition to nearly $140M in capital investments currently underway at Trident Health’s hospitals, Trident Medical Center and Summerville

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — Balancing development and existing infrastructure is an issue Charleston County and city leaders are facing.

Ask any John's Island residents their main complaint and they will likely tell you traffic.

Charleston city councilman for District 3, Jim McBride, is brainstorming ways to alleviate the stop-and-go drive on and off the island.

On Maybank Highway, two lanes are coming onto Johns Island and only one going off towards James Island.

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Councilman McBride said it's a bottleneck and taxpayers are sitting in traffic, wasting time and money.

There are three projects in the works.

McBride said the first project that will alleviate this problem is the Northern Pitchfork, which is expected to be finished in March.

It will allow motorists to take a right coming onto the island at the fairly new stoplight near Fenwick Hall Allee and take them to River Road, meaning no one has to sit on Maybank.

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The second project is restriping Maybank Highway near the intersection of River Road.

Right now, there are short turn lanes and McBride said cars get backed up, slowing traffic coming onto the island.

He said after the striping, there will be a left turn lane only. The middle lane will be three lanes and a new right turn lane will be added.

The third planned project is the nearly $30 million Southern Pitchfork, creating a possible left turn when you come onto Johns Island.

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The traffic light for the Northern Pitchfork would potentially be moved and realigned with the entrance to the Southern Pitchfork closer to the bridge.

"If that gets funded, and if that happens, the estimated completion time would be somewhere somewhere around 2028," McBride said. "I don't want to wait for four years and no one on the island wants to wait for four years. So, we're trying to come up with some ideas to improve things before that."

McBride said these projects will allow traffic to flow better coming onto the island, but there is nothing funded now to help people get off the island.

"Every single morning taxpayers are sitting in traffic wasting money wasting time," McBride said. "And it's a problem that needs to get fixed."

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One idea McBride is researching is reversible lanes.

With reversible lanes, the middle lane would switch directions in the evening, potentially alleviating traffic.

"In the morning you have two lanes going off the island, and then in the evening, you'd have two lanes coming on the island," McBride said.

McBride said it would require large signaling and possibly entry gates to make it very clear which direction people would drive.

"In 2019, the county did a study on this idea, and they determined that it would improve traffic going off the island in the morning by 66%. That's a huge improvement," McBride said.

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McBride said the county recommended they could not do reversible lanes because currently there are too many stop lights too close together.

He said if the Northern Pitchfork is realigned with the future Southern Pitchfork, there would be one intersection closer to the bridge which would create a more continuous stretch of road, potentially allowing this idea to work.

McBride said the reversible lane idea would cost about $5 million.

"In comparison, the Southern Pitchfork is estimated to be about $30 million. So, $5 million is a lot of money, but it will save taxpayers so much money over time and save time. Instead of sitting in traffic you know, wasting time and gas money," McBride said.

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This is just one idea McBride is researching.

He said he is working alongside Mayor William Cogswell, city staff, and county council members Jenny Honeycutt and Joe Boykin to find a solution for Johns Island traffic.

River Road and Maybank Highway are state-owned, meaning they are managed and funded by the county.

McBride said this requires collaboration between the city and county.

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This November, the county will vote on a 2024 Half Cent Sales Tax Referendum to potentially replace an old sales tax set to expire in the next 2 years.

McBride said it would raise an estimated $5.4 billion.

He said $2 billion would help fund the Mark Clark Expressway, and the other $3.4 billion would help fund the County Infrastructure Improvement Projects.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Clean-up efforts are underway after vandalism resulted in a 60-gallon diesel fuel spill on Johns Island, officials with Charleston Water System said Monday.

The diesel fuel spilled into a stormwater ditch behind homes along Colonel Harrison Drive that leads to the Stono River. Residents initially discovered and smelled the fuel spill over the weekend. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was called on Sunday to help with the spill.

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“Our contractor cleaned up a portion of the spill, immediately called in a professional environmental remediation company, and notified SC DHEC and the EPA’s National Response Center,” said Mike Saia, Charleston Water System's public information administrator. “It may take several days for them to recapture all remnants of the fuel.”

This is the third instance of vandalism to contractor equipment in recent weeks, and the Charleston County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

“I mean it is a very, in depth vandalism. It's not just a rock through the window. It’s someone who came out here to destroy this 200-something thousand-dollar machine,” said Chad Hunter, owner of Hunter Landworx Construction, the contractor onsite.

Hunter showed up to his Johns Island job site Monday expecting to quickly finish a project he’s been working on since October. Instead, he found his machinery completely vandalized.

“There are wires in there, cut and hidden like that. We wouldn't be able to find it if we didn't see that all the fuel around it, my guys would've gotten in the machine. He put rocks and all in our engine to try to blow the engine up,” Hunter said.

But the damage doesn’t stop there.

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The vandalism led to a 60-gallon diesel fuel spill into the surrounding area along the Stono River. Charleston Water System owns the construction project, and its staff says they’ve never seen damage this bad.

“We don't see a lot of vandalism. If we do, it's very, very minor, and easy to repair. But this is a different situation because not only did the person damage the equipment related to the job, but they've also damaged the environment,” Saia said.

Saia said they were able to soak up as much of the liquid fuel as possible and the Coast Guard confirmed to CWS that the spill didn't reach the river.

Now, Hunter must pick up the pieces.

He said the damage to his machine alone will cost a few hundred thousand dollars and his crews are now behind on all their current projects.

“We're out here to clean up somebody's mess as well as take time from our family and slow down the project. I mean, it's hurting everybody, the neighborhood, everything around us is just getting messed up from one person,” Hunter said.

“One hour's worth of work is causing weeks of fix-up.”

News 4 has reached out to CCSO for more information.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The site of a proposed preschool on James Island is causing some neighbors to worry about what their yards will look like during a storm or what the traffic will look like during rush hour.

The city of Charleston’s Design Review Board approved the basics, like what kind of building materials and plants the developer wants to use, for example, at the proposed Goddard Preschool located at 1137 Folly Rd., at Tuesday night’s meeting.

However, neighbor Matthew Pertuset says he’s more worried about what the city will review later on.

“How is that going to affect the, not just the people that back up, but the entire neighborhood?” Pertuset said.

The proposed preschool sits directly behind Pertuset’s home in the Queenborough neighborhood. He says he’s worried about the design of this building’s drainage because of how it already acts during storms.

“We’re already holding water,” Pertuset said. “So, for that to come up even more, I’m not sure. So, it’s a huge concern.”

But Robert Summerfield, the director of planning, preservation and sustainability for the city of Charleston, said because they have some of the most comprehensive stormwater regulations in the region, no project could make the problem worse but could only improve it.

“They’re working very hard to make sure that they are utilizing the existing wetlands on site and enhancing that as a stormwater catchment area,” Summerfield said.

But that’s not the only concern.

“If it is going to be a pickup, you know, we’re right here on Folly Road, how does that look during rush hour traffic in the mornings and the afternoons?” Pertuset said. “Is it going to get pushed into our neighborhood for us to deal with or is it just going to come to a stop on Folly Road?”

Summerfield said the city has already thought about it.

“We have created a drop-off low space so that cars, as they come in and drop their children off or pick them up, will actually flow through the site so that there’s a queueing situation that will occur so that people aren’t ideally not queueing out on Folly,” Summerfield said.

Neither the Goddard School nor the applicant, AAG Architects for Vista 26, LLC, have responded to requests for comment.

However, Pertuset said no matter what comes on this property, he just wants the city to be thorough with their plans.

“It is something that the community needs,” Pertuset said. “I think James Island could afford to have another preschool.”

Summerfield said the city will discuss more drainage specifics once the developer submits the next step to the Technical Review Committee. They will have to pass all initial designs before that is done and there’s currently no timeline of when that might take place.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A homeowner living on Johns Island is calling for change saying he sees accidents and drivers speed through his neighborhood.

Neighbors are calling one particular road the Brittlebush “Speedway” and claim the area has gotten very dangerous and they need solutions to manage speeders. Along with high-speed drivers, this neighborhood deals with cut-through traffic to avoid Maybank Highway.

The neighborhood is called Brittlebush Lane in Whitney Lakes and is connected to an adjoining neighborhood. Kent Kise has lived in Whitney Lakes for seven years and lives directly in front of what he calls the Brittlebush Speedway, a straightaway in the neighborhood with no speed limit signs.

Throughout the Whitney Lakes neighborhood, the speed limit is 25 mph. Kise says it’s not uncommon to see cars driving over 50 mph creating many near misses with children, pets and neighbors enjoying the walkways on both sides of Brittlebush Speedway.

“So, when you get the Maybank traffic you start getting the cut through and people fly through here 40-50 miles an hour on the heavy traffic points in time in the day morning and evening,” Kise says.

Kise is a part of the homeowner association where he says this issue has been discussed on multiple occasions and has yet to come up with any solutions. They’ve even begun petitions for traffic calming devices. There are traffic-calming speed bumps throughout the neighborhood but for some reason none on the straightaway.

“So, we are looking for traffic calming devices whether that be speed humps or the digital display units that are permanent give people a sense of how fast they’re going but we need something here very soon or someone’s going to get seriously injured,” Kise says.

Kise says the speed humps will force a slower speed for drivers and the traffic calming digital display signs are especially effective but permanent speed limit signs are needed the most.

We’re waiting on a response from The South Carolina Department of Transportation on these issues. If you have a road that’s driving you crazy, submit your road concern to Live 5 News.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.