MUSC Health The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has grown from a small private medical school in 1824 into one of the nation’s top academic health science centers, with a 700-bed medical center (MUSC Health) and six colleges that train approximately 2600 health care professionals per year. As an academic medical center or teaching hospital, MUSC Health is at the forefront of the latest advances in medicine, with world-class physicians, groundbreaking research and technology that is often among the first of its kind in the world. Patients also benefit from a multidisciplinary, team approach to care that involves the close collaboration of specialists from many different areas. MUSC Health annually records more than one million patient encounters, and is highly regarded in many disease areas including neurosciences, cancer care, rheumatology, digestive disorders, heart and vascular care, transplant, women’s health, pediatric medicine, musculoskeletal disorders, psychiatry, eye care, otolaryngology, and respiratory medicine. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health “One of America’s Best Hospitals” in seven specialty areas, with nearly 300 MUSC Health physicians making the prestigious Best Doctors in America list. Other recent milestones include National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation for MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and the completion of a new, state-of-the-art hospital dedicated to the treatment of cardiovascular and digestive diseases. Serving the needs of greater Charleston for more than 180 years, MUSC and its associated medical center has been a beacon of understanding and community outreach through times of war, natural disaster, and economic adversity.