Refrigerated Trailer for Rent in North Charleston, SC

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Following a year full of brain-related treatments, Trident Medical Center is working to meet the increased need by finishing its brand-new 10-bed Neuro Rehabilitation Unit.

Leaders with the hospital saw demand for this project after they treated nearly 2,600 patients last year for brain-related injuries, the most out of any trauma provider in the Lowcountry.

They have completed the majority of the unit, having fully finished seven out of the 10 patient rooms, not to mention the progress they’ve made on the others. It will be located on the first floor of the hospital.

This unit will be used to treat patients who have suffered any brain injury or a stroke, as well as patients with Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

The unit will allow them to offer speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Each patient will stay in the individual rooms usually for around two weeks.

They currently have a 14-bed unit at the hospital that they opened in 2019, but it is almost always at capacity, so they needed more space to better serve their community.

In just the last three years, over 3,000 stroke patients alone received care at a Trident Health facility, showcasing the need for a unit like this. Many of these patients experienced head and brain trauma for injuries related to falls and motor vehicle accidents.

Kayla Greene is a physical therapist at Trident who will be treating patients in the unit.

She says it means a lot to her to get to serve her community in this way.

“I mean, it’s very overwhelming to, you know, be going about your daily life and then all of a sudden experience this huge deficit, such as stroke or brain injury, and then your life just kind of turns in an instant. And then having to deal with, ‘okay, this is where I am,’ and it’s just so overwhelming not only for the patient, but for the family members as well and so it is just very rewarding for the therapist,” she says.

Greene has seen great results in her experience treating these types of patients and she is excited to have even more space to do so.

“Being in an inpatient rehab unit, you have this compassion and feeling for these patients and the families and not knowing what they’re kind of going through but helping guide them through this journey and… they become part of your family and it’s just overwhelming to see the progress that they make and things that they think that they couldn’t do and you’ve shown them that they can do it, just really giving back their quality of life. I think it’s so rewarding to the therapist as well and kind of reminds them of why they come to work every day,” Greene says.

The neuro rehabilitation unit is officially scheduled to open in April.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

North Charleston City Council met for the first time Thursday night after bombshell findings from a year-long FBI investigation involving three council members. Feb. 27, 2025. (WCIV)

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — North Charleston City Council met for the first time Thursday night after bombshell findings from a year-long FBI investigation involving three council members.

City officials confirmed that Jerome Heyward and Sandino Moses have both resigned from the council. Mike A. Brown was suspended in an order issued by Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday.

During Thursday’s meeting, three of the city council’s 10 seats were empty, meaning residents living in those districts are currently without representation on the council.

So far, officials with the Charleston County Board of Elections and Voter Registration said a special election to fill Heyward’s District 5 seat is set for May 27. Candidate filing opens March 14. Officials have not yet confirmed an election schedule to fill Moses' District 3 seat.

READ MORE | "3 N. Charleston City Councilmembers, 5 others charged in corruption schemes."

North Charleston residents say they’re now looking for transparency.

“How do we continue to trust?” said Betsy Hayden.

Hayden said she was appalled to learn that three councilmen were federally charged, tied to a list of schemes and accused of abusing their influence for personal financial gain.

“They work for us and this is very disheartening,” she said. “Even the fact that it had to go to the FBI to be flushed out at what point in our government do they say, whoa, this isn't right.”

READ MORE | "North Charleston city councilman charged with extortion, bribes, embezzlement."

North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess said he and other city officials are fully cooperating with the FBI probe and that the city is taking necessary steps forward.

“In the light of these indictments, the city is conducting a thorough review of any matters in which the implicated city council and members may have read and involvement,” Burgess read from a written statement to reporters Thursday.

“This review is part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, ensuring that all city operations adhere to the highest ethical standards,” he went on.

With an uncertain future for the city council and the opportunity to fill at least two vacant seats, residents said they’re looking to elect officials who will represent their best interests and follow the law.

“I charge them to not vote with their hearts, to not vote with their friends and to not vote with family. You have to vote according to the laws,” Hayden said.

Heyward and Moses are both expected to plead guilty to their charges Friday morning in a downtown Charleston courtroom.

Brown is facing a federal indictment and has his first court appearance set for March 11.

NORTH CHARLESTON — Less than a week after federal corruption charges were announced against three councilmembers, a special election has been set for May 27 to fill the vacant seats.

Filing for the single-member district seats runs from March 14 to March 24 at noon. The election that falls the day after Memorial Day will only include Districts 3 and 5. The two districts are on nearly opposite ends of the city from one another. District 3 is in the northern part of the city between Rivers Avenue and Interstate 26, while District 5 is between the Ashley River and Dorchester Road in the southern portion of the city.

Former councilmembers Sandino Moses and Jerome Heyward entered guilty pleas on Feb. 28. Heyward, who represented District 5, faced charges ranging from bribery and wire fraud to money laundering, and Moses, who represented District 3, was charged for allegedly failing to alert authorities of the attempted bribe to influence his City Council vote. The pair resigned from their seats ahead of the plea hearings.

Mike Brown is the District 1 councilman who was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery regarding programs receiving federal funds. He is set to be arraigned on March 11. Gov. Henry McMaster suspended Brown from office, but because he has not resigned, his seat will remain unrepresented until he is acquitted or convicted.

The special election will cost the city roughly $40,000, said Isaac Cramer, the executive director of the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections.

Election next step forward for city

On March 4, Mayor Reggie Burgess sat down with the civic club presidents in all three districts to provide information about the special election. Up until the election, Burgess said he and his executive staff will attend their individual district meetings moving forward.

"I want to reassure them that the mayor's office, we have their backs," Burgess told The Post and Courier after the meeting.

Kevin Mock, who serves as the president of Wando Woods in District 5, said the community's main concern is being left without representation. He said he was reassured the mayor and his staff will be available in the interim.

Burgess said he does not want the districts to feel "abandoned in time of crisis."

"What happened has damaged the credibility of this government," the mayor said.

Burgess said electing the new councilmembers is the city's next step forward.

Virginia Jamison, who represented the District 3 council seat for eight years before retiring in 2023, said the next councilmembers need to have a good understanding of "right and wrong."

"You need to have a heart for the people that you serve, not just in your district, but the entire city," she said.

The candidates who run for these positions should be able to identify specific needs of their districts as different parts of the city face different issues, she said. She noted District 3 residents experience noise pollution from the nearby I-26 as an example.

Russ Coletti, who previously served as president for Northwood Estate in District 3 and ran for mayor in 2023, said the elected councilmembers should be homeowners in their districts, not renters. According to the city's code of ordinances, a candidate must reside in the city for at least six months prior to the election day to be eligible.

When it comes to traits of the next councilmember representing District 3, Coletti said integrity is at the top of the list.

"We need somebody who's able to stand up and say, 'Here is what we actually need to better the livability and the quality of life for our citizens,'" he said.

Mock expects a transition period after the election, but wants to ensure progress continues moving forward, specifically with issues of flooding in District 3.

“Whoever runs for those seats, the neighborhoods and their district need to be behind them 100 percent,” Mock said.

Men were on North Charleston City Council

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WBTV) - A trio of councilmen in one of South Carolina’s biggest cities was accused of participating in a series of bribery schemes that also involved five other people.

The three men -- Jerome Heyward, Sandino Moses and Mike A. Brown -- were all members of the North Charleston City Council.

All three were federally charged in relation to the schemes, along with the five other people. Since they were charged, Heyward and Moses have resigned, while Brown was suspended from the council by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.

The five other people charged were:

Heyward was found by federal officials to have taken part in at least three schemes. In the first, Heyward was accused of extorting a businessman by soliciting payment in exchange for official action as a city councilman.

In the second scheme, officials said Heyward conspired with Brown and another man, Aaron Hicks. Heyward and Brown took bribes from Hicks in exchange for support in rezoning the Baker Hospital site. Hicks had been doing work on behalf of a company with business before the North Charleston City Council.

The third scheme Heyward was found to have participated in involved embezzling money belonging to North Charleston by accepting kickbacks from nonprofit organizations. In that scheme, Heyward conspired with Moten, Lorenzo and Stent-Hilton. According to the allegations, Moten and Stent-Hilton ran the nonprofits, which received grants from the city.

Heyward was charged with the following offenses and has agreed to plead guilty:

Federal officials said Heyward has agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and could be fined up to $500,000.

As mentioned above, Brown allegedly conspired with Heyward and Hicks to accept bribes in exchange for support in rezoning the Baker Hospital site.

For his involvement, Brown was charged with bribery and honest services wire fraud.

Brown was the only one of the three councilmen involved in the schemes to not resign. Gov. McMaster signed an executive order to suspend Brown following the charges, which South Carolina law gives him the power to do.

His suspension will last until he is formally acquitted, convicted, or until a successor is elected, whichever happens first.

Brown is scheduled to be arraigned on his charged in March.

Federal officials did not accuse Moses of accepting bribes, but found that he was presented with them and failed to report those attempts.

Moses was allegedly paid in bribes, but returned the money to Fields. Beyond his failure to report the attempted bribes, he then also was accused of taking steps to conceal that they had happened.

He was charged with misprision of a felony.

Moses has agreed to plead guilty to his charge and to cooperate with law enforcement. His plea is scheduled for Feb. 28, as is Heyward’s.

His maximum prison sentence would be three years, with a fine up to $250,000.

In the wake of the charges, state and federal officials have condemned the three councilmen’s alleged actions.

“Public corruption at any level of government cannot be tolerated,” Steve Jensen of the FBI Columbia Field Office said. “Citizens have a right to expect honesty, fairness, and integrity from their leaders. The FBI, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, is dedicated to aggressively investigating corruption and ensuring those responsible are held accountable.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Brook B. Andrews called the men’s actions a “betrayal of trust.”

“When elected officials take their oath of office, they make a sacred promise to the people they serve,” Andrews said. “They pledge to uphold the law, to act with integrity, and to place the public interest above their own. Public service should never merely be a job – it is a public trust. The allegations in this case describe a profound betrayal of that trust.”

On the state level, Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said his agency ensured that “justice will be served” in the case.

“No matter who you are, or what position you hold, you will be held accountable for breaking the law,” Keel said. “Elected officials and citizens should be working together to better their community, not exploiting others.”

Related: North Carolina county commissioner arrested after threatening to kill wife, warrant says

Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.

Federal authorities on Wednesday indicted three members of North Charleston City Council and five others on federal charges in a sweeping public corruption investigation related to bribery, extortion, money laundering, wire fraud and other kickback schemes.

Among those charged with felonies were:

“When elected officials take their oath of office, they make a sacred promise to the people they serve,” said the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, Brook B. Andrews, at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “They pledge to uphold the law, act with integrity and place the public interest over their own. Public service should never merely be a job. It is a public trust.

“The allegations in this case describe a profound betrayal of that trust,” he continued. “These council members used their positions not to serve their community but to enrich themselves. They traded the power entrusted to them by the city of North Charleston for their own personal gain.”

The charges follow a 12-month investigation by the FBI and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) into three different allegations of corruption. Court documents alleged charges stemmed from three different acts: a scheme to solicit payments in exchange for an official action, rezoning of the historic Baker Hospital site in North Charleston and the city’s violence reduction grants, according to Andrews.

“Public trust in our elected officials is a fundamental pillar of our democracy, and it should never be taken for granted,” said Special Agent Steve Jensen, who leads the FBI Columbia Field Office. “Unfortunately, as alleged in these indictments, the defendants abused that trust, using their positions of power and influence to orchestrate back-door deals for personal gain.”

“From the outset, the city has fully cooperated with this inquiry, embracing the opportunity to ensure the continued trust and confidence of our community,” North Charleston Mayor Reggie Burgess said in a press release. “Transparency and accountability remain core principles of this administration, and we welcomed this review as a necessary step to uphold those standards.

“We appreciate the community’s patience and support during this process and assure you that our focus remains, as always, on building a safer and brighter future for North Charleston.”

Heyward, Moses and two others are expected to plead guilty to the charges in federal court Friday morning, Andrews said. The other four defendants, including Brown, will be arraigned at a later date to be determined in March.

This is a developing story. Follow Charleston City Paper for more information.

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