Two donors cover monthly health insurance premiums for MUSC employees temporarily laid off

CHARLESTON, S.C. (April 17, 2020) – Donations from two generous benefactors will help cover monthly health insurance premiums for the approximately 900 MUSC Health care team members who were temporarily laid off in response to coronavirus-related revenue shortfalls. 

MUSC Health is currently notifying affected employees that their insurance premiums will be paid through June 30. MUSC Health had already committed to continue paying the employer health insurance contribution during this period. 

“We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of these two amazing people and for what they have tangibly done to make a difference in the lives of these families,” said MUSC Health CEO Patrick J. Cawley, M.D. “Thanks to these gifts, our care team members can find some comfort in knowing that their health care is one less thing they have to worry about right now.”

Both donors were inspired to help health care workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, said MUSC’s vice president for Institutional Advancement Kate Azizi, who worked with the donors to help facilitate the gifts. Azizi placed the value of the two gifts at $384,000.

The needs of our health care teams will continue to evolve as the institution moves toward the pandemic’s peak in South Carolina. The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, an unrestricted fund established by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation, allows the institution to respond quickly to various types of urgent needs, which currently include:

• Additional remote screening sites.  
• Surgical masks, gowns and other medical supplies.  
• Funds to help our health care providers with unforeseen expenses.  
• Research funding to support the search for new treatments and enhanced testing capabilities. 

Donations can be made online at giving.musc.edu or by phone at 843-792-2678. Thank you for changing what’s possible during this unprecedented health crisis.

Virtual interviews available

Kate Azizi, vice president for Institutional Advancement, is available for live or recorded virtual interviews. Please contact John Nash, director of communications for the Department of Development and Alumni Affairs, at 843-270-5647 to set up an interview.

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About the MUSC Foundation

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation was chartered in 1966 as a charitable, educational foundation to support education, research, patient care and other programs at the Medical University. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible.

Since its beginning, the MUSC Foundation has encouraged such worthwhile academic enterprises as endowed professorships, scholarships, the acquisition and development of campus facilities to serve student, teaching, research or clinical needs and awards in honor of academic excellence. In addition, it has encouraged achievements in biomedical research.

The Foundation is governed by a 31-member board of directors. The president of MUSC is an ex-officio non-voting member of the board. Three members of the MUSC Board of Trustees also serve on the board. The remaining 27 at-large directors are not directly affiliated with the university. Five are alumni of MUSC. The foundation’s funds are invested and managed by professional money managers selected by the foundation’s Investment Committee. This committee uses a professional investment advisor to assist in evaluating its managers.