Charleston, South Carolina (December 10, 2021)-The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA) boards held regularly scheduled committee meetings on Thursday and Friday, December 9-10 And board meetings, respectively. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many people attended the conference via video conference. The meeting was held in the MUSC board room, and according to the COVID-19 agreement, attendance was limited. Several other participants attended the meeting via video conference.
In terms of education, the board of directors voted to approve the launch of a major capital project to raise funds for the new MUSC Medical School (COM) academic building. The proposed building will be located at the corner of President Street and Bee Street, on the original site of the existing Vince Moseley Building. Although the full design and construction costs of the new building have not yet been finalized, it is expected that part of the funds will be obtained through charity and university reserves set aside for this purpose.
"In addition to the much-needed office and educational space, the new MUSC medical school building will provide an academic home for the college," said MUSC President David J. Cole, MD, FACS. After the most recent LCME accreditation visit, the college received full accreditation for a term of up to eight years.
"Achieving this level of certification requires years of work by a dedicated professional team," Cole said. LCME stands for Medical Education Liaison Committee. This group is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an accreditation body for medical education programs for obtaining a doctorate of medicine in the United States or Canada.
Among other things under review, the trustee voted to approve a plan for MUSC Health leaders to submit two proof of need (CON) applications to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). DHEC must issue CON before allowing certain types of healthcare acquisitions, expansions, and new facilities.
"We are constantly tracking and evaluating the needs of the communities we serve, and reconfiguring our resources to meet changing needs and needs," said Patrick J. Cawley, CEO of MUSC Health, who also serves as vice president of university health affairs.
In a CON, 42 rehabilitation beds are required to be relocated from MUSC Health Florence Rehabilitation Hospital Medical Center-Cedar Tower to MUSC Health Florence Medical Center. This will place more resources where community demand continues to be high.
If DHEC allows it, the second CON will allow MUSC to purchase and install the first PET/MRI scanner in the Charleston area. This scanner is the preferred imaging method for certain types of cancer. If approved by DHEC, it will be located at the MUSC Healthy Elm Center in North Charleston. The facility provides lung cancer screening and other specialized oncology services. Imaging can provide opportunities for early detection and close assessment of the impact of cancer treatment.
In terms of other businesses, the 16-member MUSC/MUHA board of directors also voted to approve the following items:
The MUSC/MUHA board of directors is an independent body that manages universities and hospitals. It usually holds six two-day committee and board meetings each year. For more information on the MUSC Board of Directors, please visit Academicdepartments.musc.edu/leadership/board/index.html.
Established in Charleston in 1824, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the south and the state's only comprehensive academic health science center. Its unique responsibility is to serve the state through education, research, and patient care. Every year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: dental medicine, graduate students, health professions, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $328 million in biomedical research funding in fiscal 2021 and continues to lead the state in obtaining this funding. For information about academic programs, please visit musc.edu.
As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is committed to providing the highest quality and safe patient care, while training generations of compassionate and competent health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and other regions. Nearly 25,000 nursing team members provide nursing services to patients in 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and 5 additional hospitals under development, more than 300 telemedicine sites and locations in the South Carolina Lowlands, Midlands Nearly 750 points of care in North Carolina, Pedy, and Northland. In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked MUSC Health as the number one hospital in South Carolina for the seventh consecutive year. To learn more about clinical patient services, please visit muschealth.org.
The total annual budget of MUSC and its affiliates is US$4.4 billion. The nearly 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class teachers, doctors, professional providers, and scientists who provide groundbreaking education, research, technology, and patient care.