Edwards reflects on his 17 years as president
Good evening. Of course, this time of year is special for many reasons. We pause to give thanks for our many blessings, get together with our family and friends to celebrate the season, and close out another year—in this case, a century. This particular season, however, is especially poignant for me because this is my last get-together as president. Many of us, as members of the MUSC family, have come a long way since 1982. It’s been a wonderful journey for me and I hope it has been for you, too. Tonight, I want to reflect on the past 17 years and discuss how we got to where we are now. As I recall, one of the first university functions I attended was a faculty administrative retreat in the old Castle Pinckney Motel. In all candor, the group was depressed and focused on all the reasons why things could not be accomplished, rather than focusing on making things better. I realized then that one of my first obligations as president was to make the university family believe that positive things could happen. We needed a radical change in attitude. So we set our sights high, established our goals and objectives each year, rolled up our sleeves and, as a team, made it happen. We had a great story to tell—a story about the wonderful things and the wonderful people at MUSC. And, as we told our story, businesses, foundations, and private citizens began to support our cause. We gained additional state and federal support to improve our facilities and construct new buildings—the face of the university changed dramatically. Our clinical programs began to expand, and we were not only serving those who were turned away from other facilities, we were becoming the medical center of choice for South Carolina’s “opinion makers.” At the same time, our educational programs and research programs became stronger and more innovative. As more recruitments occurred, our research base began to expand. Over time, our culture changed from one of “We can’t,” to one of “We can.” You know, it’s easy to construct buildings with brick and mortar, but unless we changed attitudes, progress would be dreadfully slow. Our attitude has changed.
By any key measure, MUSC today is fulfilling its mission to the people of South Carolina and beyond, better than at any time in our 175-year existence. We are preparing better health professionals, providing better care to more patients, providing more health promotion, prevention and outreach, and conducting more discovery. At the same time, we provide a greater economic impact to our community and our state. It has been my pleasure to carry the banner for this team we have today. Let’s compare where we were in 1982 to where we are today: Budget
Education
The James B. Edwards Scholars program attracts the nation’s top students. Increased emphasis on diversity has attracted minority students and faculty. Research
Today, the Medical University is ranked among the top 100 research universities in the nation. Patient Care
Outpatients
From 1982 to 1999, the MUSC Medical Center has had more than 375,000 admissions and 4.3 million outpatient visits Campus Growth
Construction Projects since 1982
Health Sciences Foundation
Economic Impact
Hurricane Hugo
We took care of about 355 patients, and we did not lose any—in fact we gained two—two babies were born during the storm. We suffered millions of dollars in damages, but the utter destruction of our beloved St. Luke’s Chapel epitomized the devastation. The day it opened its doors again to the MUSC family and to the community was—and still is— one of the proudest days of my life. These past 17 years have been tremendous in terms of progress and growth. As we approach the new millennium, however, we know there will be many challenges to overcome. There will also be great opportunities. For example, the creation of a hospital authority to govern the Medical Center will give it some flexibility in meeting the changes in health care. Last year, as you recall, the State Performance Steering Committee and the KPMG consulting group recommended converting to an authority for greater efficiency. This will exempt the Medical Center from certain state regulations and allow it to operate more like a business, and other academic health centers are taking the same course. Last June, the General Assembly, with the support of our local legislative delegation, passed the MUSC Hospital Authority Act, for which we are very grateful. This allows hospital employees to remain in the state insurance and retirement plans, which many have expressed their desire to do. The act will exempt the hospital, however, from state regulations regarding procurement, capital improvements, personnel and other areas. Our staff has been busy preparing to implement the Authority with a projected date of July 2000. We have had a number of meetings with the state Budget and Control staff, and internal teams are working on a variety of issues—shared services, financial management, procurement, allocation of space, and other areas. We are also preparing for some technical amendments to the Authority Act. Since the legislation was passed at the eleventh hour, there were some issues that remain unclear, such as the hospital’s ability to issue bonds and borrow money, and transferring the outstanding hospital debt. We need to make sure all the “i’s” are dotted and the “t’s” are crossed to avoid any problems in the future. Still, this is an exciting opportunity for the university and I look forward to seeing it unfold. Another example of opportunity is the recent tobacco settlement, which should allow South Carolina and other states to recoup some of their losses resulting from tobacco-related diseases. If you are familiar with the settlement, then you know that there are two pots of money involved. Phase II money is over $5 billion being distributed to compensate tobacco growers and others in the tobacco industry in 14 states. That money is already spoken for. The distribution for Phase I money, however, is very much up in the air. As a matter of fact, no one knows yet how much money will go to each state. Estimates are, however, that the total payout to South Carolina after 25 years will be close to $200 billion. This is the money we must fight for to help cover our costs for treating patients of tobacco-related diseases. According to the American Lung Association, smoking-related diseases claim about 431,000 American lives each year. Smoking costs the United States almost $98 billion each year in health-care costs and lost productivity. So even though that $200 billion payment seems like a lot, it pales in comparison to what tobacco has cost us. That is why we should do everything within our power to put that money where it will do the most good—in health care and prevention. And, in my opinion, there is no better health care institution than the Medical University. With the dedicated and talented people associated with the university, and with the momentum we have established, and with a double dose of hard work and unity, in my opinion, MUSC’s future is unlimited. We are poised to skyrocket into the next millennium. The future of this university is unbelievable. We have built a launching pad and it’s all ready to go. I look forward to watching it unfold from the sidelines in the years to come. In fact, I will be its best cheerleader.
I deeply appreciate your dedication to your state and to this great and historic academic health center. Because of you, these past 17 years have been some of the most satisfying years of my life. To share with you the excitement and joy of our graduating students, to talk to our patients and their families when the patient is successfully restored to health, to see the results of a new discovery that happened on this campus, to see the completion of a new facility, knowing it will serve the needs of people from all walks of life for years to come, all this makes my job the best in the world. I will depart with the old millennium, and I will take my leave with the satisfaction of knowing that much has been accomplished, and much more will be accomplished by you in the new millennium. I know you will give Ray Greenberg your full support, and together you will take the Medical University to unprecedented success. It’s been a great ride, and I thank you for allowing me the privilege of sharing it with you. May God bless you all in the years ahead as you continue to serve mankind. Thank you.
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