MUSC annual Board of Trustees update

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Aug.10, 2024) -The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA) Board of Trustees held their regularly scheduled committee sessions and board meeting on Aug. 9 and 10. 

The board elected Charles W. Schulze as the new chairman of the board of trustees and W. Melvin Brown III, M.D., as vice chairman. Mr. Schulze was elected to the MUSC Board of Trustees in 2002 as the lay representative from the 3rd Congressional District. Schulze is a former chairman of the board of trustees. Brown was elected to the board in 2018 as the medical profession representative from the 6th Congressional District.  

The board voted to approve the university and health system budgets for fiscal year 2025, for a total revenue operating budget of ~$7.1 billion.  

“Our growth as an academic health system has been incredible over the past several years and last year was no exception,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MBA, FACHE. “We are grateful for the board’s approval of the budget this year because we know it will enable us to continue to provide access to outstanding health care across South Carolina as we continue to grow.”  

The board also unanimously voted in support of a Purchase and Sale Agreement by the Medical University Hospital Authority for the Roper St. Francis Healthcare building and property in downtown Charleston. The sale will comprise the 900,000-square-foot hospital building; the parcel where the medical office building sits and the adjacent parking; and parking garages on Doughty and Jonathan Lucas streets. 

The transaction will not be finalized until Roper St. Francis Healthcare relocates its main downtown campus to North Charleston. 

“This property purchase is strategically important to MUSC, and further enables our ability to create state-of-the-art health care, research, and innovation facilities within the heart of our campus – ensuring our growth and innovation for the next 200 years and beyond. We are excited about our future and how we will continue to change what’s possible for South Carolina as we reshape the future workforce, empower healthy communities and drive innovation and transformation,” said David J. Cole, M.D., FACS, MUSC president. 

Dr. Cole provided board members with a year in review report (FY 2024) detailing accomplishments and distinctions, including U.S. News & World Report rankings and National Cancer Institute designation for Hollings Cancer Center.  

While in a bicentennial year, the organization will continue to shape health care in South Carolina and beyond through its culture of innovation and research. Additionally, the workforce growth through the expansion of critical need graduate medical education and James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine’s new Rural General Practice Residency Network will drive change. 
  
“We are a driver for knowledge-based economy in this state. Our growth in education and the opportunities we provide our students are paramount to who we are as an institution,” Cole added.

The MUSC/MUHA Board of Trustees serve as separate bodies to govern the university and hospital, normally holding two days of committee and board meetings six times a year. For more information about the Board of Trustees, visit its web page. 

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About MUSC 

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,200 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – and trains more than 900 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $300 million in research funds in fiscal year 2023, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding. For information on 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. Patient care is provided at 16 hospitals (includes owned or governing interest), with approximately 2,700 beds and four additional hospital locations in development, more than 350 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. 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 $5.9 billion. The 31,000 MUSC family members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research and patient care.