Rounds With Ray
First, on the legislative front, we have encountered some initial success. The budget prepared by the House Ways and Means Committee included $6.3 million toward the cost of constructing a new College of Dental Medicine building. This represents about a third of the amount that we are seeking from public sources, with an additional $10 million to be raised privately. If approved, the recommended appropriation this year would allow us to move forward with the design of the building. The remaining amount of public funding will be sought next year. Our success in securing initial support for the College of Dental Medicine project was accompanied by some disappointment that the House Ways and Means Committee did not recommend any support for our three other construction projects. We are seeking support for renovations to the College of Pharmacy building, a new research building, and a new College of Health Professions building. We were optimistic that some seed funds might be recommended for several other projects, since as with the dental school project, the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) had given their highest possible rating. The CHE also had scored the new research building at the second highest rating level. In spite of the favorable review, however, none of the other facilities requests were recommended for funding by the House Ways and Means Committee. Of course, this does not represent the final outcome, as there is the possibility of changes either on the floor of the House or in the Senate. The House Ways and Means Committee also made a decision for this year to allocate all of the state’s share of the tobacco settlement funds to the general budget. We, and other health care providers, had encouraged the General Assembly to restrict the use of the tobacco settlement funds to the purpose for which they were originally awarded—for the prevention and treatment of smoking-related illnesses. There was a partial victory in this decision, nevertheless. The budget recommended by the House Ways and Means Committee included only about $8 million to tobacco farmers, which was about a third of the amount that was proposed in the governor’s budget and much less than the tobacco interests had been seeking. Again, the decisions about the use of the tobacco settlement funds are not finalized, and you can still impact this decision by expressing your opinions to your elected representatives. You can be assured that we will continue to apprise the members of the General Assembly of the need to consider the growing challenge of providing health care services to the medically uninsured. This point was made individually to a number of influential leaders in the House and the Senate. In addition, a team from the Medical University made a presentation on this topic to the Legislative Black Caucus. Over the past month I also have had the opportunity to discuss the Medical University with a number of constituents. These presentations included a talk to the downtown Charleston Rotary Club. The focus of my address to that group was the value to the state of having a first-rate academic health science center. Although two South Carolinians have won Nobel Prizes in medicine, both pursued their education and scientific careers outside the state. We have the talent pool here to be leaders in health care education, research, and service and we should expect nothing less from the institution. I also gave a talk to the Medical Society of South Carolina—the private physician organization that is a partner in the CareAlliance. The theme of my talk to that group was that it is time to mend fences and build stronger linkages between the town and gown physicians. I suggested four initial avenues of collaboration, including buying and sharing expensive medical equipment, jointly operating patient support programs, partnering in our community outreach efforts, and collaborating on policy initiatives. I am pleased to report that my remarks were very warmly received by the members of the Medical Society. In the coming week, I will address the alumni of the College of Medicine. My talk on that occasion will focus on the importance of building and sustaining a premier research enterprise at the Medical University. Finally, I have devoted a substantial amount of time over the past month to raising private support. Toward that end, I have met with individual donors and prospects across the state of South Carolina—from Greenville to Hilton Head. Raising private support has taken me as far afield as the Philippines, where several colleagues from the Medical University discussed research collaboration on natural pharmaceutical products. The potential partners in this effort include the University of the Philippines, the International Rice Institute, and the Medical University. So, as you can see, February was a month that overflowed with activity. As we marked progress on several fronts, we also faced the realization that even greater challenges lie ahead. I hope that you will join me at the Inauguration on March 30, as we celebrate the continuity in leadership at the Medical University. That ceremony will afford us a collective opportunity to rededicate ourselves to our shared purpose to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina and beyond. With best wishes, Ray Greenberg
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