In February, South Carolina lawmakers proposed reopening the burn center and funding the project with taxpayer money, according to the report. Officials said the project would benefit hundreds of burn patients who must be flown to the JMSBC clinic at Doctors Hospital for treatment.
MUSC’s original burn center closed in 2002 due to a lack of funding, according to the report.
Fred Mullins, MD, president and medical director of JMSBC, said the organization operates a part-time outpatient clinic at Charleston-based Trident Medical Center. He said it is “financially … not feasible” to operate a full-time burn clinic in Charleston. According to Dr. Mullins, “geographically, it’s a bad location because half of [the city] is [surrounded by] water,” and “there is not enough volume to open a five-day-a-week clinic,” according to the report.
Patrick Cawley, MD, CEO of MUSC Medical Center, said reopening the burn center couldn’t happen unless the facility received state funding.
“Without support, it’s hard to keep the program going,” said Dr. Cawley. “We think $5 million, at least particularly in the first several years, would be significant to not lose money on it and build a world-class unit.”
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