Greenwood Genetic Center partners with MUSC

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The Greenwood Genetic Center and the Medical University of South Carolina have signed an affiliation agreement to provide patients across South Carolina with accessible, high-quality, coordinated and cost-effective genetic services through a collaborative approach to providing medical care, according to a news release.

The two entities have worked together informally on clinical consultations, provider education and research for more than a decade. This affiliation seeks to formalize and expand the depth and breadth of the relationship, the release said.

“I live in Greenwood, and I’ve said for years that a lot people don’t understand what an absolute gem this center is,” Charles Schulze, chairman of the MUSC board of trustees, said in the release. “They’ve helped almost 100,000 families across the state make incredibly important decisions, unmasked difficult-to-diagnose conditions, and have been there for these families every step of the way when faced with good news, or not so good news. We are very pleased to be aligning with this like-minded and advanced care provider to help more MUSC patients benefit from GGC’s expertise.”

The initial goals of the partnership include:

• Increasing access to clinical genetic services for MUSC patients and all South Carolinians
• Optimizing the patient journey to improve wait times for appointments and consultations
• Sharing critical resources and expertise where possible to lower costs
• Pursuing workforce development, research, clinical trials and treatment collaborations

“In this rapidly evolving field of medical genetics, collaborations are essential to ensure that discoveries are efficiently translated to clinical care and all patients receive timely state-of-the-art services,” Dell Baker, chairman of the Greenwood Genetic Center Board of Directors, said in the release. “This affiliation pairs GGC’s immense experience in clinical genetics care and technology advancement with MUSC’s leadership in clinical trials and medical education. We expect this agreement to be not only mutually beneficial to the two organizations but most importantly, to improve the quality of life for the thousands of South Carolinians who are impacted by a genetic diagnosis.”