A rendering of the Medical University of South Carolina Health system's proposed $1 billion cancer hospital. (Photo courtesy of MUSC Health)
The Medical University of South Carolina’s hospital system is seeking donations to help fund a more than $1 billion top-tier cancer center proposed for downtown Charleston.
MUSC Health hopes to raise $250 million from private donors to help pay for the planned new cancer hospital, it announced in launching last week the largest fundraising campaign in the state-owned hospital system’s history.
That’s on top of $175 million in taxpayer dollars the General Assembly is expected to approve for the project this year. The hospital system had requested twice that amount.
The hospital system’s governing board a year ago approved the plan to chase a Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute.
MUSC’s current cancer hospital holds a tier-two designation as a Clinical Cancer Center. The bump in rankings could mean a bump in National Cancer Institute research grant support.
“This effort reflects a shared commitment to improving cancer outcomes statewide, and we are grateful for the strong support and partnership of leaders across the state who are standing with us in this effort,” Don Migliori, co-chair of the fundraising committee, said in a statement.
“By bringing together innovation, clinical excellence and statewide partnership, we are helping ensure patients and families have access to comprehensive, world-class care now and well into the future,” added Sean Mummert, the fundraising committee’s other co-chair.
The fundraising campaign marks a major undertaking for the hospital system, dwarfing the $68 million it raised a decade ago for its new children’s hospital, The Post & Courier reported.
Among other major fundraising campaigns by the state’s research universities, the University of South Carolina is in the process of raising $200 million to help pay for improvements to its football stadium, according to spokesman Jeff Stensland.
Previously, USC raised $18 million in private money for its new law school building.
And when it built a new $106 million business school, at that time the costliest construction project in school history, it raised upwards of $87 million over five years.
More than half of that came from the school’s namesake, Darla Moore, a financier and philanthropist from Lake City.
Moore, who was on USC’s governing board at the time, challenged the school to raise at least $30 million from other private donors — a challenge which USC exceeded, nearly matching Moore’s own $45 million gift.
As for MUSC, the hospital system plans to make its bid for the top cancer treatment designation in 2028, when its next review is scheduled.
If approved, the center would be the first of its kind in South Carolina. Patients seeking this top level of care currently must travel out of state to centers in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
“There’s no reason in the future for a South Carolinian, if you have a cancer diagnosis, to leave the state for best-in-class care,” medical college president David Cole told House and Senate budget writers earlier this year. “We should be able to build and deliver the best care possible for our citizens. And we’ve had a lot of partners that are lining up to help us make this a reality.”
Top-tier cancer hospital expected to add to MUSC Health’s growing debt
The proposed 14-story building would include 100 oncology rooms, operating rooms and urgent care dedicated to cancer patients. It would be equipped for stem cell transplants, clinical trials and physical therapy.
MUSC estimates it will spend $885 million for construction and $230 million for equipment, with the goal of opening the hospital in April 2030.
The hospital system could seek next year the other half of the $350 million in taxpayer funding officials hoped to secure in the state budget starting July 1.
If successful in reaching both its fundraising and state funding goals, MUSC will still face more than $400 million that will have to be financed, adding to its already hefty debt load.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
