MUSC trustees hear updates on major projects and vote to approve speaker for 190th commencement

Contact: Sheila Champlin

843-792-2691

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Feb. 8, 2019) – The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA) Board of Trustees held their regularly scheduled meeting to review initiatives that support their tripartite mission of education, research and patient care.

For commencement speaker at the 190^th MUSC graduation ceremony, Lisa K. Saladin, PT, Ph.D., executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost, proposed Caroline DeLongchamps, manager of Patient-and-Family-Centered Care in the MUSC Quality and Safety Department. An MUSC team member for more than eight years, DeLongchamps is a staunch advocate for partnership among patients, families and care team members.

“Caroline’s personal experience as the mother of a child who suffered and survived a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car gives her a unique perspective on how MUSC can continually improve how we care for and support our patients and families,” Saladin said. The MUSC spring graduation ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 18. The board voted to approve DeLongchamps as the speaker and recipient of the MUSC honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.

In other academic matters, the board reviewed and approved a joint degree program that will allow eligible students enrolled in the College of Pharmacy, seeking a Pharm.D. (doctorate in pharmacy), to also earn a Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI). While both of these degrees already exist at MUSC, the dual-degree plan will allow students to concurrently pursue both degrees.

“The Pharm.D. prepares graduates to be licensed pharmacists, while the MSHI trains health care professionals in the collection, organization and use of data in health care and medical research. Combining these skillsets is of critical interest to the state and to MUSC,” Saladin said. “The United States is in the midst of its largest health information technology investment ever, as the majority of health care organizations are in the throes of implementing or upgrading their electronic health record systems. When we think about how to deliver expected quality improvements, including safer and more responsible use of pharmacy services, one logical, practical step is to train pharmacists in how to design, build and maximize the use of health information systems that are used to support health decisions and e-prescribing,” she noted.

“MUSC is in the midst of a robust expansion phase,” said James Lemon, D.M.D., vice chairman of the MUSC board. “Our teams have planned, started or are nearing completion on a number of major projects designed to enhance this institution’s ability to serve the people of South Carolina and those in need who are well beyond our state borders.”

The board received project updates on the:

MUSC Health purchase of four Community Health Systems-affiliated hospitals – Announced in mid-November, this transaction is currently in process and is expected to close before the end of March. For details on the hospitals being acquired, please visit https://web.musc.edu/about/leadership/institutional-offices/communications/pamr/news-releases/2018/musc-board-votes-to-acquire-four-community-hospitals-from-subsidiaries-of-community-health-systems
MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion at Calhoun Street and Courtenay Drive – The $388.7 million project with 250 beds is proceeding on schedule and is set to open in October. Support for the new children’s facility continues to grow with more than $139.1 million pledged to date. When it opens, the new hospital will provide the most technologically advanced facilities available for the children of the city, state and region.
MUSC Children’s Health R. Keith Summey Medical Pavilion – The 100,000-square-foot facility in North Charleston is solely dedicated to outpatient pediatric care. The $57.7 million project is expected to open in the first quarter of 2019.
MUSC Health West Campus – With renovations underway, MUSC is investing $16.4 million to convert former department store space at the Citadel Mall in West Ashley into a 128,000-square-foot health care site. The range of available services will include musculoskeletal care, ophthalmology and ambulatory surgery. The facility will open in late 2019.
Consolidated Service Center – The warehouse for material management supply chain, which will also function as a central sterile processing distribution center, is a $28 million facility. It is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2019.
MUSC Health Community Hospital at Nexton – The 311,221-square-foot facility with 128 beds will provide a range of specialized inpatient and outpatient services. The project is estimated at $325 million and expected to be operational in 2022.

In other business, the board voted to approve:

A request for MUSC Health to file a certificate of need with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to add 29 beds to MUSC University Hospital.
A request to enter into a collaboration agreement with Clemson University. The agreement creates a framework to manage current and future projects between the two universities and establishes a board-level joint liaison group that will provide strategic guidance for the relationship between MUSC and Clemson. Together, the universities focus on serving the state through shared research acumen and delivery of innovative, solutions-oriented programs.
The expansion and enhancement of 3,100 square feet of existing space in the Institute of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, to create a sleep study lab.
The construction of a new 2,700-square-foot mailroom at the Arco Lane warehouse, since the sale of Harborview Office Tower requires MUSC to vacate the building where the mailroom is currently located, by October.
Increasing the budget from $1.25 million to $1.8 million for renovations at Ashley River Tower in order to relocate the Nuclear Medicine Service.

The MUSC/MUHA Board of Trustees serve as separate bodies to govern the university and hospital, holding two days of committee and board meetings six times a year. For more information about the MUSC Board of Trustees, visit http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/leadership/board/index.html.

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About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and 750 residents in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy) and has more than 14,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.6 billion, with an annual economic impact of more than $3.8 billion and annual research funding in excess of $250 million. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children's Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center), Level I Trauma Center, Institute of Psychiatry, and the state’s only transplant center. In 2018, for the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the number one hospital in South Carolina. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit muschealth.org.