Campaign celebrates contributions of Blacks in MUSC workforce

Each February since 1976, communities, businesses and campuses recognize the achievements of Black Americans with Black History Month celebrations.

At MUSC, it is an annual opportunity to recognize people and their special contributions to health care, research and education throughout the institution’s long 197-year history.

For 2021, planners focused on an expanded campaign by acknowledging employees across MUSC Health’s growing presence in communities throughout the state as a result of the purchase of four community hospitals in 2019 and new medical clinics.

“We wanted to communicate to our audiences how far MUSC has come and celebrate the contributions of Blacks and African Americans who are part of the fabric that makes up the MUSC community," said Willette Burnham-Williams, Ph.D., MUSC chief equity officer, who guided the planning, along with the support of Enterprise Campaigns and University Communications’ Deborah H. Reynolds, director, and Kelly Warren, manager, and other collaborators. “We also wanted to provide a current perspective of our Black community members across MUSC’s enterprise by saying ‘This is who we are.’’’

The campaign focuses on the “Changing What’s Possible,” theme and includes a historical timeline celebrating people, programs and milestones. Social display ads honored present-day Black faculty and MUSC Health care team members Nicholas Shungu, M.D., Family Medicine; Felesia Bowen, DNP, Ph.D., College of Nursing; Kristen Hood Watson, M.D., and Anita Ramsetty, M.D., Family Medicine; and Kiandra Scott, M.D., Surgery. Other display ads included a collage of employees from the MUSC Health Charleston, Florence and Lancaster divisions. Full and half-page display ads ran in the Charleston and Columbia newspapers as well as other markets.

“This campaign is important because it allows us to recognize MUSC's historic milestones, but by featuring current members of the MUSC family, we are able to underscore the work and achievements of our current Black faculty and staff members. It points to our ongoing commitment to continuing progress in creating a more equitable and diverse organization that mirrors those we care for and educate,” said Reynolds.

Burnham-Williams added that with the recent launch of OneMUSC, MUSC’s new strategic campaign, there’s no better campaign that promotes the institution’s statewide footprint in our hospitals in various locations across the state. “We’ve drawn them in the February Black History Month campaign to say ‘We appreciate and acknowledge you, and you are part of our community.’ We’re now OneMUSC statewide. It makes perfect sense,” Burnham–Williams said.