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Hearing on MUSC-VA shared facilities plan held
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
A congressional hearing was held Sept. 26 to receive testimony on a collaborative opportunity between the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina.
U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., chairman of the Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee on Health, convened the meeting.
Also present were Rep. Steve Buyer, D-Ind., chairman of the house committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, ranking member of the subcommittee.
The hearing was held at the Thurmond/Gazes Research Building, a facility in which the two hospitals share space.
In an effort to provide access for all interested parties, the proceedings were simulcast in two remote sites, one in North Charleston and one in Georgetown.
Testimony included findings from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which concluded “the Charleston (VA) medical facility is in overall good condition and, with some renovations, can continue to meet veterans’ health care needs in the future.”
Mark Goldstein, director of the GAO Physical Infrastructure Issues, said, “the MUSC proposal for a new joint venture medical center presents an opportunity for exploring new ways of providing health care to Charleston’s veterans, but it also raises a variety of complex issues for the VA.”
Among those issues are the benefits and costs of investing in a joint facility compared with other alternatives; legal issues associated with the new facility, such as leasing or transferring property; and potential concerns of stakeholders, including VA patients and employees.
Dr. Raymond Greenberg, president of MUSC, noted in his testimony, “Let us state emphatically here that we are not proposing that the MUSC would ‘take over’ the operation of the VA. … Any coordination of facilities would be guided by principles to protect the interests of veterans and those who serve them.”
MUSC’s proposal includes a five-phase hospital replacement project. Illustrations of phases four and five show MUSC in the area now occupied by the VA Hospital. The proposal provides for a separate tower of the future MUSC hospital to be used for VA patients only.
Besides sharing facilities with MUSC, the VA would be able to share research and some intellectual property from MUSC’s educational component. MUSC stands to gain from the VA as well, particularly the cutting-edge surgical technology developed by the VA. The VA hospital system is ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Although the two hospitals have a history of collaboration, including 243 physicians holding faculty appointments at MUSC who treat veteran patients at the VA hospital, there is no model elsewhere in the country for the merging of facilities between two such entities.
The deal is made more difficult given that MUSC is a state-run organization and the VA Hospital is operated under the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, because the VA hospital includes active-duty patients, its activities fall under the Department of Defense.
“Just to form a board between the two will take action from Congress,” Rep. Buyer said.
Besides Goldstein and Greenberg, the witness list included: The Hon. Tim McClain, general counsel for the Department of Veterans Affairs; Michael Moreland, director and CEO of the VA Pittsburgh Health Care System; William Mountcastle, director of the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center; Dr. Raymond Greenberg, president of MUSC; Dr. Joseph Reves, vice president for Medical Affairs and dean of the College of Medicine; W. Stuart Smith, vice president for Clinical Operations and executive director of the Medical University Hospital Authority; Sgt. Maj. Clarence McGee (Ret.) of the National Legislative Council of the American Legion; and Master Sgt. Lyn Dimery, USAF (Ret.) of the National Legislative Committee of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
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