The University of South Carolina has the responsibility to improve the lives of South Carolinians by educating well-rounded leaders and developing a robust and effective workforce.
We also have an obligation to research scientific and practical solutions that help solve the state’s pressing problems with the environment, the economy and health care.
To address an urgent health care need in South Carolina, USC announced plans Friday to build its first hospital — a first-of-its-kind comprehensive medical center in the Southeast dedicated entirely to brain and nervous system care.
In a single facility in Columbia, patients would receive advanced neurosurgery and neurological treatments for conditions such as brain trauma, strokes, brain cancer and epilepsy, among others. This facility will also include comprehensive neurological rehabilitation for these and additional brain conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. This innovative neurological rehabilitation hospital would be modeled on the nationally top-ranked Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.
The USC neuro-inpatient hospital would operate in conjunction with the nearby USC Brain Health Center, a high-tech outpatient treatment and research facility, set to start operations in early 2026.
USC plans to recruit world-class doctors, therapists and researchers and use the latest in imaging and robotic surgery to create a 21st-century hospital that would become an indispensable specialized resource across the Southeast.
The hospital also would support the training of the next generation of neurological medical specialists, creating one of the largest densities of neurological experts in the country.
USC is filling a health gap by developing a unique hospital that will save lives and transform the quality of life in South Carolina. USC’s largest-ever investment in health care demonstrates once again our long-standing commitment to boosting the welfare of South Carolinians.
University of South Carolina plans to build first hospital | Commentary
The University of South Carolina has the responsibility to improve the lives of South Carolinians by educating well-rounded leaders and developing a robust and effective workforce.
We also have an obligation to research scientific and practical solutions that help solve the state’s pressing problems with the environment, the economy and health care.
To address an urgent health care need in South Carolina, USC announced plans Friday to build its first hospital — a first-of-its-kind comprehensive medical center in the Southeast dedicated entirely to brain and nervous system care.
In a single facility in Columbia, patients would receive advanced neurosurgery and neurological treatments for conditions such as brain trauma, strokes, brain cancer and epilepsy, among others. This facility will also include comprehensive neurological rehabilitation for these and additional brain conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. This innovative neurological rehabilitation hospital would be modeled on the nationally top-ranked Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.
The USC neuro-inpatient hospital would operate in conjunction with the nearby USC Brain Health Center, a high-tech outpatient treatment and research facility, set to start operations in early 2026.
USC plans to recruit world-class doctors, therapists and researchers and use the latest in imaging and robotic surgery to create a 21st-century hospital that would become an indispensable specialized resource across the Southeast.
The hospital also would support the training of the next generation of neurological medical specialists, creating one of the largest densities of neurological experts in the country.
USC is filling a health gap by developing a unique hospital that will save lives and transform the quality of life in South Carolina. USC’s largest-ever investment in health care demonstrates once again our long-standing commitment to boosting the welfare of South Carolinians.
We already have a head start in vital neurological care.
USC has developed decades of brain study research from its School of Medicine, the Arnold School of Public Health and the Department of Psychology. USC’s McCausland Center for Brain Imaging has collaborated with Prisma Health Heart Hospital in Columbia for close to 20 years on studies about brain injury and recovery, and the university is looking forward to further growing its relationships with our current health care delivery partners and other health care systems across the state.
During the past year, the university took steps to address needs of patients suffering from brain-related ailments by establishing specialized clinics in underserved areas statewide through the Brain Health Network and developing a state-of-the-art clinical and research Brain Health Center in Columbia with South Carolina’s only state-of-the-art 7-Tesla MRI scanner to better analyze brain structure and function.
The hospital would address the medical needs of South Carolinians while leveraging USC’s broad clinical, academic and research portfolio. It would expand the university’s brain health research by housing clinical laboratories for teams from our medical, physical and speech therapy, nursing and pharmacy programs.
The hospital would be part of a strong emerging health care hub when it opens next to USC’s planned new School of Medicine building on the university’s Health Sciences Campus in Columbia’s BullStreet District. The new campus is near Prisma Health Richland Hospital and USC’s planned Brain Health Center, creating a medical corridor that capitalizes on expertise from the public and private sectors.
USC has chosen this path with a neurological hospital and brain health centers because of South Carolina’s growing struggle with brain-related injuries and ailments. The Palmetto State ranks among the nation’s 10 worst in stroke death rates, and ranks fourth in death rates from traumatic brain injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
USC’s focus on helping South Carolinians is a crucial part of this new project. The new hospital would not only deliver the top caliber services in the region, but also ease time and financial burdens for patients and their families who now must travel outside the state to receive neurological care. These out-of-state treatments also add significant costs to the state’s health care system.
A hospital specializing in neurological treatment, surgery and rehabilitation would transform South Carolina by saving lives and supplying the state with a medical landmark known across the country. USC is proud to fulfill its role as the state’s flagship university and make a significant positive change to the quality of the lives of all South Carolinians.
Michael D. Amiridis is president of the University of South Carolina.
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