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Congress gives $36.8M for hospital by Katy Stech Of the Post and Courier  One of the last legislative actions carried out before the 109th session of Congress turned out the lights in early December will benefit a planned partnership between Charleston’s medical university and veterans medical center.   Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, and U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., announced that they have secured $36.8 million toward the planning of a shared hospital between the MUSC and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.   President George Bush was expected to sign off on the spending authorization—part of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care and Information Technology Act of 2006.   House representatives initially passed a $70 million chunk of funding for the project in September, but the amount was later cut in half during a negotiation session with Senate leaders, who hadn’t budgeted any money for the project.   Now, Graham, Brown and other supporters herald the bill as a success that few people thought would pull through so late in the congressional year.   “I don’t want to oversell what we’ve done, but this is a major development and a milestone towards what we want to do,” Graham said.   The ultimate goal behind the funding is to build a medical facility that will support both medical university students and veteran patients.   The collaboration would upgrade Charleston’s Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, which was built in 1965. It also would allow the two groups to share expensive medical equipment.   The idea behind such partnerships dates back to World War II, when returning veterans turned to medical universities during a doctor shortage, explained Dr. Jerry Reves, MUSC dean and vice president for medical affairs.   Today, two of every three VA hospitals have an academic affiliate, he said. In Charleston, 95 percent of doctors at the VA hospital are from the university.   But if the proposal comes to life, the two groups would share more than just doctors. They also would share expensive medical equipment used to treat the increasingly complicated medical problems that older patients face.   The $36.8 million spending authorization means that legislators have taken another step toward establishing a “revolutionary” model that will serve both veteran patients and medical students, Reves said.   “This is an example of your politicians working for you and your country, just like our veterans have done,” he said. Editor’s note: The article ran Dec. 17, 2006, in the Post and Courier and is reprinted with permission.     Friday, Jan. 5, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.