Contact: Dick Peterson

843.792.3622

June 6, 2002

Adult Burn Center Closes

CHARLESTON, SC -- Effective June 10, the Dabney Yarbrough Adult Burn Center at the Medical University of South Carolina will suspend operations. Patients with major burns will be referred to regional centers dedicated to providing these services. MUSC will continue to provide state-of-the-art care for adult patients with less severe burns.

In addition, MUSC Children's Hospital Burn Center will continue to provide care to pediatric patients in a facility that is ranked as one of the top-10 children's hospitals in the country.

MUSC is committed to providing the best care possible for its patients, and recognizes that adult patients will be best served by being treated at a larger, solely dedicated facility such as the Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta. This Level I regional burn center has recently doubled its number of beds and agreed to handle the referrals from MUSC.

Along with other South Carolina hospitals, MUSC will serve to stabilize burn patients for transport to a regional facility. The Trauma Service will assist in triaging adult patients with major burns to appropriate regional burn centers.

MUSC is proud of the long history of its Adult Burn Center. Founded by Dr. Dabney R. Yarbrough III and Dr. Max S. Rittenbury, the Adult Burn Center has provided comprehensive multidisciplinary care for burn victims for more than 30 years. As it makes the long-term plans for future hospital facilities, MUSC will evaluate the need for including a state-of-the-art adult burn center.

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