MUSC receives $7 million from The Duke Endowment to expand care access and strengthen the health care workforce

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Sept. 2, 2025) − The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has received three grants from The Duke Endowment totaling $7 million to support three initiatives aimed at improving maternal health, expanding access to care and strengthening South Carolina’s health care workforce. The majority of these funds will be used to support hospital systems in North Carolina and South Carolina to replicate an evidence-based program aimed at improving maternal and infant health.

“We value our longstanding partnership with MUSC and are excited to support initiatives that directly enhance the health and well-being of South Carolinians,” said Lin Hollowell, director of The Duke Endowment’s Health Care program area. “Through our collaboration, MUSC and The Duke Endowment are committed to accelerating innovation that can expand access to essential care and improve health outcomes for all.”

For more than 100 years, The Duke Endowment has supported MUSC’s mission to preserve and optimize human life through education, research and health care, benefiting communities across South Carolina and beyond. 

“Fostering healthy communities is core to MUSC’s mission, and The Duke Endowment shares that vision,” said Carol Shannon, vice president of institutional advancement for the MUSC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and official philanthropic partner of MUSC. “These new grants help us bring care closer to home, invest in health workforce development and improve outcomes where the need is greatest.”

These grants will enable MUSC to:

Lead a regional effort to improve maternal and infant health

Grant amount: $5,298,000

With a $5.3 million grant, MUSC will partner with The Duke Endowment and the University of North Carolina to launch a technical assistance center focused on improving the health of mothers and babies in the Carolinas. The center will help hospitals and clinics across the Carolinas implement a proven, text/phone-based screening and referral program—originally developed at MUSC with support from The Duke Endowment—that identifies women at risk for complications during and after pregnancy.

Women are then connected to the care and support they need, including help with chronic conditions, mental health services and community resources. This program is especially critical in the Carolinas, which have some of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the country.

Pilot a program to help more SC women have healthier pregnancies and births

Grant amount: $1,100,000

MUSC will also launch a new health initiative focused on women of reproductive age who are uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid, populations at higher risk for complications. A care team including nurses, social workers and community health workers will screen women via phone and text for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, or social needs like food or housing insecurity.

Women will be connected to care before pregnancy begins, an approach proven to reduce preventable complications and close health equity gaps. The $1.1 million grant will fund the technology, staffing and community partnerships needed to launch and evaluate this model, which is designed to be scalable and sustainable across South Carolina. The initiative is led by teams in population health, psychiatry and telehealth at MUSC.

Launch a workforce development initiative to address critical health care shortages in rural and underserved communities

Grant amount: $1,500,000

With a $1.5 million grant, the OneMUSC Workforce Development Initiative will help people start careers in health care—such as nursing, medical technology and allied health—through paid apprenticeships, job training and education. The program removes common barriers like cost, time and lack of access by offering paid work during training, nationally recognized certificates and clear career pathways. Led by a team of experts from across MUSC, the initiative aims to improve access to care while creating strong economic opportunities for South Carolinians.

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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 2025, for the 11th 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 $8.3 billion. The 34,000 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.

About the MUSC Foundation

The MUSC Foundation is the official nonprofit organization dedicated to raising, managing and investing philanthropic support for the Medical University of South Carolina. Founded in 1966, the Foundation connects donors to high-impact opportunities across MUSC’s mission areas: including patient care, medical research, education and community health. All contributions are received and stewarded by the Foundation to advance MUSC’s work and improve lives across South Carolina.

About The Duke Endowment 

Based in Charlotte and established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, The Duke Endowment is a private foundation that strengthens communities in North Carolina and South Carolina by nurturing children, promoting health, educating minds and enriching spirits. Since its founding, it has distributed more than $5 billion in grants. The Endowment shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy, but all are separate organizations.