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Congressman Henry E. Brown
Contact: Brooke Adams (202) 225-3664


VA-MUSC Shared Facilities Report Presented to Chairman Buyer and Subcommittee Chairman Brown

Meeting Unveiled Report Details for Possible Facility Sharing

Washington, Dec 13 -

Yesterday, Chairman Steve Buyer and Subcommittee on Health Chairman Henry Brown met with Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and VA officials to receive the preliminary report detailing the possibility of MUSC and the VA building a joint-use hospital together in Charleston, SC. This facility could provide a model for the federal government to consider when replacing aging VA hospitals.

“I am confident that this report will provide the needed impetus for additional collaboration here in Charleston and around the nation, while improving the care for those who faithfully served our nation,” said Chairman Buyer. “We must preserve a veterans’ preference and an environment where veterans can be around their comrades.”

“I’m extremely excited that after several months of hard work, we now have a roadmap forward. Equally important, I think this process has changed the way both VA and MUSC view one another – as two institutions who have a mutual interest in leveraging their existing relationship and improving the quality of care to our nation’s veterans,” said Chairman Brown.

Yesterday’s meeting also revealed that in the short-term, VA-MUSC have agreed to share nearly $7 million of medical equipment to improve care for cancer patients and those with coronary disease.

“The agreement between VA and MUSC to share medical equipment signifies great progress toward maximizing both federal and state health care dollars to improve the quality of care for everyone who seeks care in these facilities.”

Background: In August, representatives from VA and MUSC formed the Collaborative Opportunities Steering Group (COSG) to conduct the examination. The COSG reviewed both short-term and long-term ideas for better collaboration between the two entities, such as sharing expensive medical equipment unique to South Carolina and construction of new, joint facilities.

The two health care systems already engage in a considerable degree of collaboration: some 95 percent of the physicians working at Charleston’s Johnson VAMC also work at MUSC and exchange nearly $13 million in health services every year. The two organizations are partners in a mutually supported biomedical research facility, the Thurmond/Gazes Biomedical Research Center.