Board of Trustees approves 5-year OneMUSC strategic plan

MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion leader provides four-year update.

Sisters of the first African American man to graduate from the MUSC College of Medicine  receive gift in tribute to the life of their beloved brother.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Oct. 11, 2024) – The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Medical University Hospital Authority Board of Trustees held their regularly scheduled committee sessions and board meeting on Oct. 10 and 11.

The Board approved the strategy for the future, presented by David J. Cole, M.D., FACS, president of MUSC, that outlines the institution’s next five-year strategic plan: OneMUSC. It also defines two 20-year aspirational goals for the enterprise: within 20 years MUSC will be a top 20 academic health system in the nation and South Carolina will be top 20 in the nation for health outcomes. “This is the boldest plan MUSC has undertaken in its 200-year history. However, with our strong foundation and incredible talent, we are charting challenging yet exciting goals that will continue our momentum toward becoming an innovative, preeminent academic health system,” said Cole. 

Along with the goals, the plan highlights three strategic focus areas to guide MUSC’s path forward: 

• Empower healthy communities.
• Drive innovation and health transformation.
• Reshape the future workforce.

Additionally, Mark A. Scheurer, M.D., MUSC chief of Children’s and Women’s Services, provided an update on the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion to the Board. Scheurer shared that over the last four years, the children’s hospital and women’s pavilion have demonstrated better than national average recovery in hospital volume since COVID in total census, surgeries and Emergency Department visits. This includes:

• Average inpatient growth of 5% per year over past three years. 

• Average of 3% inpatient and 11% outpatient surgical case growth over last three years. 

• Average of 4% delivery growth.

“The pediatric and women’s health care teams have advanced several critical programs, including a pediatric burn unit in collaboration with Shriners Children’s™, an additional level of care in the Advanced Fetal Care Center and a measurable increase in patient complexity in our subspecialty programs,” said Scheurer. 

 

On Friday, the Board honored the remarkable contributions and legacy of the late Bernard W. Deas Jr., M.D., the first African American man to graduate from the MUSC College of Medicine, Class of 1971. Through his exemplary work as a medical oncologist, Deas (pronounced Deez) broke barriers and paved the way for future generations of medical professionals. Vice Chairman W. Melvin Brown III, M.D., presented Deas’ sisters, Mary Deas and Joan Marshall, with gifts in memory of his life.

Deas’ commitment to service extended beyond the medical care he provided. He also served our country in the U.S. Army, where his excellence was recognized through numerous accolades from the Medical University of South Carolina and military honors. In 2006, the University established the annual Dr. Bernard W. Deas Jr. Diversity Award. This scholarship supports deserving medical students and embodies MUSC’s commitment to enhancing health care access.

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About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates over 3,100 students in six colleges and trains 950+ residents and fellows across its health system. MUSC leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health and research funding. For information on our academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. In 2024, for the 10th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $7.1 billion. The 31,000 MUSC members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.