MUSC board receives reports on challenges, growth and exceeding expectations in fiscal year 2021

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Aug. 13, 2021) – In mid-August, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA) Board of Trustees held their regularly scheduled committee and board meetings. With the June 30 close of fiscal year 2021, MUSC administrators shared data on its operations, financial position and continued growth, all unfolding during the constant ebb and flow of the COVID-19 pandemic. To support appropriate public health precautions, in-person attendance at the two days of committee and board meetings was limited to presenters and other designated participants.

“Even with the backdrop of this ongoing pandemic, which has adversely affected so many lives, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the remarkable work beyond COVID that our providers and team members across the state have accomplished,” said MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS. “In a year when there seem to be new obstacles constantly strewn in our path, MUSC team members have risen to the ongoing challenges. We’ve employed innovative thinking and high-impact actions to achieve a tide of transformational accomplishments for our patients, colleagues and communities.”

“Even during challenging times like this, healthy, forward-looking organizations must continue to grow,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO of MUSC Health and vice president for Health Affairs, University. “Our recently completed acquisition in the Midlands is a testament to the solid footing of our hospital system and its affiliated facilities. We remain committed to serving communities across the landscape of South Carolina and maintaining our best-in-class status as a destination for health care.”

The board also received reports on the progress of several projects already underway including:

The Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and expanding both General ENT (ear, nose and throat) and Audiology into existing clinic space on Kiawah/Seabrook islands.
Upfitting the existing Nexton Medical Office Building to expand Orthopedics and add Women’s Health services.
Build out space for a Breast Clinic, expected to go live in December, and a Dental Clinic, with an anticipated opening in April 2022, at the West Ashley Medical Pavilion.
Construction of the Sea Islands freestanding Emergency Department complete with helipad and a medical office building with prioritized clinics and telehealth flexibility.
The status of construction for the MUSC Williamsburg-Lake City Hospital, which is expected to start seeing patients in January 2023.

Also, the board voted to approve filing three Certificate of Need (CON) applications to acquire three surgical robots to be located at MUSC Health Charleston, MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown and MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Northeast. The CON documents will be filed with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), which must issue a CON before certain types of health care acquisitions, expansions and creation of new facilities are allowed.

“MUSC donors have contributed an amazing outpouring of support to our organization,” said Kate Azizi, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “For the fiscal year just ended in June, we raised more than $52.7 million in philanthropic support from a wide variety of donors. It is both heartening and humbling to know so many people recognize the importance of this institution and value the impact we have on our statewide community,” she noted.

In other business, the board voted to approve:

Fiscal year 2022 budgets for the university and the clinical enterprise.
The launch of a new five-semester program, the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling, to be administered by the College of Health Professions through a hybrid format of on-campus and virtual learning. Fall 2023 is the proposed date for enrollment of the first class.

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

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About the Medical University of South Carolina

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $271 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2020, continuing to lead the state in obtaining National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $129.9 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care available while training generations of competent, compassionate health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Comprising some 2,000beds, more than 100 outreach sites, the MUSC College of Medicine, the physicians’ practice plan and nearly 275telehealth locations, MUSC Health owns and operates eleven hospitals situated in Charleston, Chester, Fairfield, Florence, Kershaw, Lancaster and Richland counties. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.6 billion. The more than 20,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.