MUSC receives $4.6 million in grants to launch 4 programs

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The Duke Endowment has awarded Medical University of South Carolina $4.6 million in grants. The sum is the largest that the endowment has ever granted MUSC in a grants cycle.

The grants will help launch four initiatives for MUSC. Of the funds, $1.85 million will be used for virtual home visits for newborns and their families, as South Carolina has the highest infant mortality rate in the nation, MUSC said in a news release.

Another $1.33 million in grant funds will help improve health care in the Pee Dee region, in particular developing an innovative care model for the new northern Williamsburg County hospital under construction. The hospital also will address the lack of diverse health care providers in the county, MUSC said.

Nearly $900,000 will support mental health of pregnant women and new mothers, additionally providing real-time psychiatric consultations and training for providers who serve pregnant and postpartum women. Another $525,229 will provide mental health support for patients with sickle cell disease, a hereditary blood disorder that predominantly affects the Black community, MUSC said.

MUSC has further created long-term sustainability plans for each program.

“We are grateful to The Duke Endowment for its major investment in our mission and their ongoing partnership to help us lead health innovation for the lives we touch,” MUSC President David J. Cole said in a statement. “These grants will make a significant difference as we seek to improve the well-being of children and their families, expand access to care and bolster mental health support.”

Since 1994, The Duke Endowment has invested nearly $40 million in MUSC programs.

“The Duke Endowment is proud to partner with MUSC in developing and providing these innovative models of care,” Lin Hollowell, director of the Endowment’s Health Care program area, said in a statement. “Our founder wanted his philanthropy to increase access to health care and improve well-being for all Carolinians, and that still drives our work today.”