USC, GHS boards give final approval to proposed program expansion
August 9, 2010
USC, Palmetto Health to explore additional physician training in Columbia
GREENVILLE, SC – August 9, 2010 – The University of South Carolina Boardof Trustees took action Friday (Aug. 6) to address the state’s growingshortage of primary-care physicians and improve access to health care inthe Palmetto State.
The board approved a plan to expand medical education in Greenville andannounced plans to explore opportunities with Palmetto Health toincrease capacity for training more physicians at the School of Medicinein Columbia.
The Greenville expansion of USC’s medical-education program will be at the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, which has been a campus of the USC School of Medicine since 1991.
Earlier Friday, the GHS board also approved the expanded program, whichmust be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools(SACS) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
The initiative builds on a partnership that has been in place since1991. That partnership allows third- and fourth-year USC medicalstudents to complete their final two years of education at GHS. Underthe proposed expansion, approximately 40 students annually will be ableto spend all four years of their medical training at GHS as early as2012. That number is expected to grow. USC also announced plans to workwith Palmetto Health to increase the number of medical students trainedat the USC School of Medicine campus in Columbia.
USC President Harris Pastides said the actions will address a critical shortage of primary-care physicians in the state.
“We must take immediate steps to produce more physicians of excellenceto offset a growing healthcare crisis in our state,” Pastides said.“Thus, we are very excited to announce an agreement to expand ourprograms in Greenville and to work with the Palmetto Health healthcaresystem to add as many additional physicians schooled in the Midlands aspossible.”
Michael C. Riordan, president and CEO of GHS, said the expanded programin Greenville will help mitigate the long-standing physician shortage inthe state and improve healthcare across South Carolina, particularlyrural areas. The program will also spur job growth, increase per-capitaincome and help make the state more attractive to corporationsconsidering expansion or relocation.
“Having an adequate number of highly trained physicians is critical toour ability to deliver quality healthcare,” Riordan said. “As one of thelargest health systems in the region working in close partnership withUSC, it is our responsibility to anticipate the future healthcare needsof our community and address them.”
Charles D. Beaman Jr., CEO of Palmetto Health, said the proposedexpansion offers the best chance for addressing the state’s futuremedical needs.
“As the largest health system in central South Carolina and with morethan 30 years invested in the education of physicians, Palmetto Healthapplauds efforts being made by the University of South Carolina andGreenville Hospital System to increase the number of physicians,especially primary care, being educated in our state,” Beaman said.
“Additionally, we are committed to exploring the expansion of the USCSchool of Medicine here in Columbia with President Harris Pastides andDean Richard Hoppmann. I believe that an expanded medical school here aswell as an expanded medical program in Greenville, should it beestablished, will offer the best chance for South Carolina to addressthe future medical needs of our citizens. Palmetto Health is eager topartner with USC to assure that it can happen.”
Education has always been an integral part of GHS’ mission. In fact, GHSaccepted its first nursing student just three days after its originalGreenville General Hospital opened its doors in 1912. In the nearly 100years that have followed, GHS has helped train thousands of physicians,nurses and other healthcare professionals.
“We’re proud of our almost 20-year partnership with USC School ofMedicine and look forward to continuing it so that we can help ourregion meet the healthcare challenges ahead of it,” Riordan said.
USC Provost Michael Amiridis said the expansion in Greenville complements USC’s efforts to increase access to healthcare.
“Expanding the medical-education program in Greenville complements USC’sinitiatives to provide more healthcare professionals, from nursing andpharmacy to social work and public health, for South Carolina,” Amiridissaid.
In recent years, USC has increased the number of undergraduate nursingmajors through its eight-campus system, implemented newbachelor’s-degree programs in the Arnold School of Public Health and insocial work, and integrated its pharmacy-education program with one atthe Medical University of South Carolina to establish the South CarolinaCollege of Pharmacy, which has already expanded its statewide mission.Approximately 25 SCCP students receive some of their training at GHSduring their fourth year.
According to an August 2010 article in The Journal of the South CarolinaMedical Association, South Carolina’s capacity for educating physicianshas not kept pace with the state’s needs, and the state ranks 43rd inthe number of primary-care physicians per 100,000 residents.
Written by former USC President Andrew A. Sorensen, the article citesdata from the Association of American Medical Colleges showing that theper-capita rate of first-year medical students dropped from 5.96 per100,000 in 1994 to 5.47 per 100,000 in 2008. In contrast, theSoutheastern average is 5.56, and the national average is 5.86.
Amiridis said the expanded medical-education program will featureinnovative teaching practices, including sending students to communityprimary-care settings earlier to expose them to patient care. Theprogram will have a dean who will report to the provost in Columbia.
USC and GHS officials said the launch of the expansion will not befinanced with state funds and instead will be funded by GHS and byfuture-student tuition. Dr. Jerry Youkey, vice president for medical andacademic services at GHS, said expanding the program at GHS iscost-effective because substantial infrastructure, including clinicalfaculty through its University Medical Group and 98,000 square feet ofmedical-education facilities, is already in place at the GHS campus.
Pastides said all those factors entered into the decision to expand in Greenville.
“This in no way represents a diminution of our commitment to our finemedical school in Columbia,” Pastides said. “In fact, the expansion inGreenville and Columbia is an endorsement of its outstanding traditionof educating primary-care physicians.”
Pastides said the expanded programs in Columbia and Greenville willemphasize the primary-care fields, including family medicine, obstetricsand gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine and psychiatry, and focuson recruiting South Carolinians and encouraging them to remain in thestate and practice in underserved rural areas.
“Increasingly, our school and the Medical University of South Carolinahave had to turn away qualified applicants,” Pastides said. “Thoseapplicants either abandon their plans for medical school or goelsewhere. Either way, our state loses a pool of potential physicians,and we cannot afford to let that continue.”
