Contact: Ellen Bank
843.792.2626
Oct. 8, 2004
CHARLESTON -- Yesterday’s approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to insure $401million in bonds will enable the Medical University of South Carolina to begin construction on the first phase of its new hospital within the next few weeks.
It is anticipated that the first phase will be completed in January, 2008.
The backing by HUD means that the university will be able to issue hospital revenue bonds at a lower interest rate than it would have been able to do on its own, lowering the cost of the project.
Since MUSC made the initial application a year ago, HUD has been scrutinizing the hospital, looking carefully at feasibility studies for the new hospital, the current hospital’s financial performance, its market share with competitors, its medical staffs’ credentials and its general financial stability.
“HUD’s backing validates the financial feasibility of our plans and enables us to move forward immediately,” said MUSC president Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D. The project will assure future generations of South Carolinians a modern, state-of-the-art health care facility second to none in this country. We are grateful for the support we have already received from the City of Charleston, the Veteran’s Administration and our own university community.”
The first phase will include a 625,000 square-foot building to accommodate cardiovascular and digestive disease services. The hospital will contain 156 beds, including 32 ICU beds, nine operating rooms, catheterization laboratories, interventional radiology laboratories, endoscopy suites, imaging suites, a specialized chest pain center and out patient clinic space.
The $401million insures both bonds for the new construction project and re-funding of existing debts. The consolidation of these debts is a requirement for the new funding.
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