A President's Perspective – October 2021

Dear MUSC family,

Cooler weather, pumpkin spice everything … as some would say, ‘It’s fall, y’all!’ With the change in seasons comes a change in the COVID-19 pandemic; namely, that hospitalizations and infections are way down from a month or so ago, and vaccination rates continue to come up. I hope that you’re breathing a sigh of relief and welcoming these much-anticipated changes.

As indicated by the more than 18 months of data collected and analyzed through the MUSC COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project, I think we can expect current trends to continue for a while longer. That said, we must remain vigilant in advocating the importance of both vaccination, for those who haven’t been vaccinated yet, and boosters, for those who qualify per CDC and SCDHEC guidelines, and also in following masking, social distancing, hand hygiene and other pandemic-related guidelines, as appropriate, if we hope to forestall or mitigate any future surges.

We’ve led our community forward during a very challenging time, and once again, I ask you to continue your efforts in the days ahead. It’s all too easy to wish the virus and its variants away – for us and those we serve – so I’m counting on everyone to role model the efforts that will keep our communities as safe and healthy as possible.

In upcoming communications across the enterprise in the weeks to come, in addition to this newsletter, please keep an eye out for more information about how, as OneMUSC, we’re working strategically to address wellness, team resilience and improvements in the work environment to support our hardworking and dedicated MUSC family more fully.

I hope that you’ll take a few more moments to read through this newsletter and please accept my sincere thanks for the determination, compassion and skill you bring with you to MUSC every day.

Yours in service,

David J. Cole, M.D., FACS
MUSC President

Innovation in Action

In late September, MUSC and Helix announced a strategic partnership to develop a first-of-its-kind population genomics initiative in South Carolina called In Our DNA SC. This project is designed to improve health care outcomes by integrating genetic insights into clinical care and research, and initial patient enrollment for In Our DNA SC is expected to begin this fall, with patients who sign up at select MUSC clinics and locations. Later, enrollment will expand to include participants throughout the community and state, in collaboration with MUSC’s clinical affiliates and partners. Additionally, participants who consent to securely contributing their genetic data will help MUSC to develop one of the largest clinico-genomic datasets in the country. Analyses from this platform will be used to pioneer and advance genomics research. MUSC will oversee and safeguard all genetic data collection, storage and sharing, using rigorous privacy-preserving and secure computation protocols.

As you know, delivering the highest quality care throughout the state is our top priority. The opportunities to transform health care through precision medicine are exciting and stretch across all three components of our mission. We want to lead in this space, and this first-of-its-kind population genomics program for our patients is a significant first step. I look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks and months ahead. To learn more about the partnership, visit here.

Cut to the Chase

My latest post is related to digital transformation in health care and what that means for us and those we serve. It’s my third entry on this topic overall, so you could say that it’s on my mind a lot. I think if you read this post and its predecessors, you’ll understand. If you are interested in suggesting a topic for possible inclusion in a future blog, please email me at president-com@musc.edu and keep a lookout for monthly posts.

Giving with Purpose

Next month, we can make a significant collective impact on MUSC through Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Last year, we raised a record $569,000 from 449 people in support of our mission. MUSC employees were a huge part of that success as one of our largest groups of donors (second only to our alumni!). Thank you for your support – you embody our values of compassion and collaboration.

MUSC will participate in Giving Tuesday again this year. On Nov. 29 and 30, you may see social media posts with the hashtag #GiveTueMUSC or receive an email about how to participate. Individually, we each have an opportunity to support the people, places and programs at MUSC that matter most to us. Together, we can move MUSC forward and show the world how much we believe in what we do here. I hope you will plan to join me!

From Kathy

As a volunteer in the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, I’m frequently amazed and inspired by the awesome care that our teams provide to the children who need their expertise and compassion. Recently, the care team there delivered its first set of quadruplets! While multiple births are not an unusual occurrence at MUSC, because of the highly specialized care they received here, these four little ones will always have the distinction of being the first quads at SJCH. In my work as a volunteer, I was able to meet and rock these sweet babies and was once again reminded of the magic that happens when an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals, and parents with a good sense of humor, work together to create a truly patient- and family-centered experience. Read more about these special newborns.

#ICYMI

“Everyone does some lip reading, even people with normal hearing,” said Meredith Duffy, Au.D., an MUSC Health audiologist. But Duffy has seen a definite uptick in people coming in because they’ve realized that, with so many people wearing masks, they can’t hear as well as they thought they could. Read more here.

Funding record: The Medical University of South Carolina sets extramural funding record with the help of COVID-related money.

New cancer resource: The breast cancer support group meetings provide a resource for patients at any stage of treatment to connect with others.

Memory disorders: When he learned that a friend was living with Alzheimer's, Henry Fair wanted to do something tangible. The result is a new memory disorders clinic at MUSC Health.

Resilience in SCI: Spinal cord injuries can leave people feeling isolated, but survivors, such as MUSC researcher James Krause, Ph.D., exhibit a strong, resilient streak.

Saving lives: Hollings launches a new prevention and awareness program to reduce prostate cancer deaths among Black men in South Carolina.