MUSC Health West Ashley Medical Pavilion expands with new services and space

The MUSC Health West Ashley Medical Pavilion at the Citadel Mall will start the new year with new services. Leaders gave a preview at a ceremonial ribbon cutting, where they described how far the site has come and what’s next.

MUSC Health CEO Patrick Cawley, M.D., remembered early discussions about the medical pavilion’s possible location. “When this came on the market, somebody said, ‘Well, why don't you come over here?’”

 

A shopping mall may not have been an obvious choice to everyone, but Cawley said MUSC Health saw an opportunity. “We got it built. And it turns out this is people’s favorite facility now. It's got parking, it's big, it's got all different services here. It's a one-stop shop.”

That one-stop shop is about to include a lot more. The medical pavilion, which opened in Dec. 2019 in a former J.C. Penney store, is adding services and facilities in phases. The opening, four years ago, marked the first phase. You can read about that here, including the services that are already up and running.

The second phase will open to the public in Jan. 2024. It will include: 

• A new vascular interventional radiology, or VIR, lab

Vascular interventional radiology uses technology to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases in a less invasive manner with less recovery time. 

Nurse supervisor MaryKate Thomson said having the lab in West Ashley will help meet high demand. “We have a growing practice in the downtown area, currently in the main hospital, Ashley River Tower and the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. This will be a new ambulatory suite for us to increase patient access. It will definitely make it easier and give us more room to see the patients.”

 

The patients benefit from that access as well, she said. “We can perform interventions or procedures with. It’s guided by imaging as opposed to any type of open surgery. It’s minimally invasive with maximal intervention - and results.”

• Vascular ultrasound room

The medical pavilion is also adding a vascular ultrasound room to visualize arteries and veins and diagnose and better treat conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and peripheral vascular disease. 

• Additional specialty clinics

New specialty clinics are opening as well, creating more space for patients with endocrine and gastrointestinal issues. 

Endocrinology encompasses diabetes, thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, bone, gonadal and metabolic disorders. MUSC Health can also perform ultrasound-guided thyroid biopsies at this location.

Gastroenterology provides comprehensive clinical services for patients with known or suspected digestive issues.  The irritable bowel disease clinic, led by gastroenterologist Erin Forster, M.D., will be an interdisciplinary clinic. It will include not only medical providers but also pharmacists and social workers who focus on IBD conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

And there’s a ripple effect that will benefit other patients. As these clinics move into the new space upstairs, they’ll create additional space for the current cardiology clinic to expand.

• Expanded options for surgical specialties

The West Ashley Medical Pavilion is also adding four exam rooms with a focus on surgical, interventional and/or cancer needs. It’s expanding its second-floor space to include a suite dedicated to surgical/ interventional needs as well as cancer specialties. 

Doctors say this will offer a place for patients to connect with their oncologist or surgeon to discuss treatment planning or follow-up care after surgery. Services include VIR, breast surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, cancer surgery and vascular surgery.

• Expanded breast center

Radiology operations manager Teresa Harrison said patients at the West Ashley Medical Pavilion will also have expanded breast center care options.

 

“We will be offering all types of breast imaging services here from a screening mammogram to diagnostics to performing biopsy procedures. And we have breast MRI here,” she said, referring a test that can detect breast cancer.

• Expanded musculoskeletal, or MSK, clinic

The medical pavilion, which already has full-service care for orthopedic musculoskeletal patients, is adding more space for them. It offers treatment for problems ranging from arthritis to hip fractures to osteoporosis. 

The additional space will also allow for the expansion of spine services. That will mean more comprehensive and collaborative coverage. The orthopedic spine care, orthopedic physical medicine and rehab, anesthesia pain management and neurosurgery teams will have a collaborative workspace to give patients the best options for pain relief.

• Ankle/foot CT machine/suite

Another dimension of the full-service orthopedic care will be a new, specialized machine for people who need their feet and/or ankles examined by CT, or computed tomography scan. It uses X-rays and a computer to show the bones and other tissues with more detail than an X-ray alone.

• Expanded physical and occupational therapy options

The pavilion is also expanding its space for physical and occupational therapy. Occupational therapist John Austin described what his team does. “Our general therapy is treatments of various kinds. We treat mainly orthopedic injuries and problems within our center here. A lot of shoulder, knees, hips, those kind of things,” he said.

 

The physical and occupational therapists now have new equipment and tables in a bigger space for the growing number of people seeking those services. “The new space looks fantastic. We’re very excited to get into it,” Austin said.

Comprehensive center for care

All of those new and expanded areas add up towhat MUSC leaders call a comprehensive center for care. David Cole, M.D., president of the Medical University of South Carolina, said it’s part of a larger vision of bringing health care to where patients live. “We're so excited now to have this next level expansion and to continue to deliver on our promise: putting patients first."