History

America’s healthcare system is in the midst of an unprecedented transformation. In 2004, two of South Carolina’s research-intensive universities, the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina, and two of its largest health systems, Greenville Health System and Palmetto Health, established Health Sciences South Carolina. In 2005, Clemson University and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System joined the nation’s first statewide health research collaborative. Their motivation was simple: these visionary leaders wanted to improve South Carolina’s health status. They also wanted the state to play a leading role in the national healthcare movement and understood that research was and remains a necessary driver to improve public health, improve care delivery and efficiency, and to make healthcare services more affordable.

More than a decade later, this unique collaboration has succeeded in making South Carolina a leader in health system transformation and a national model for Learning Health Systems. HSSC is using the power of collaboration to make good health possible for all South Carolinians.

 

HSSC Timeline

2002
  1. January - 2002
    SC General Assembly passes the Research Centers of Economic Development Act that earmarks $30 million/year to fund the recruitment of endowed chairs at USC, MUSC and Clemson....
2004
  1. April - 2004
    HSSC was founded by USC, MUSC, Palmetto Health and Greenville Health System. Each pledged to invest $2 million per year for 10 years to invest in health sciences research...
  2. December - 2004
    HSSC announced award of first SmartState® Center in Brain Imaging, pledging to invest $5 million.
2005
  1. February - 2005
    HSSC announces $6 million SmartState® Center in Regenerative Medicine. MUSC creates a regenerative medicine campus in Charleston that includes Clemson researchers.
  2. May - 2005
    Clemson and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System became HSSC-supported organizations.
  3. November - 2005
    GHS breaks ground on the Health Sciences Research Education and Innovation Campus in Greenville, sparking a larger clinical education partnership with USC and resulting in...
2006
  1. April - 2006
    HSSC dedicates the McCausland Center for Brain Imaging at Palmetto Health having one of the first 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems in the state.
  2. May - 2006
    HSSC announces the creation of the South Carolina Coordinated Cancer Initiative, a statewide cancer research alliance.
  3. June - 2006
    Two new SmartState® Centers of Economic Excellence are created: Childhood Neurotherapeutics and Molecular Proteomics for Cardiovascular Disease.
  4. August - 2006
    The Duke Endowment makes $21 million, three-year grant to HSSC, the largest healthcare grant in its history.
  5. October - 2006
    HSSC establishes guidelines for investigational drug research at South Carolina hospitals.
2007
  1. July - 2007
    Dr. Jay Moskowitz named HSSC president and Endowed Chair in SmartState® Center for Healthcare Quality. He is given appointments at USC, MUSC and Clemson.
  2. September - 2007
    Older Adult Independence ( SeniorSMART®) Center opens
  3. October - 2007
    More SmartState® Centers are established: Healthcare Facilities Design & Testing, Stroke
2008
  1. January - 2008
    IBM and Siemens engaged to help create a statewide IT strategy and roadmap for HSSC.
  2. March - 2008
    HSSC begins partnership with SCHA on patient safety and healthcare quality, hosting the first statewide patient safety symposium in Columbia.
  3. May - 2008
    Greenville Health System and Spartanburg Regional Heath System are first to go live on eIRB.
  4. June - 2008
    SmartState® Center in Cancer Stem Cell Biology and Therapy established.
  5. July - 2008
    SmartState® Center in Medication Safety and Efficacy established.
  6. October - 2008
    Dr. Michael Randall joins HSSC as Chief Economic Development Officer.
2009
  1. February - 2009
    The South Carolina Healthcare Quality Trust is established in collaboration with SCHA and Premier Health. The Trust is committed to reducing healthcare acquired infections...
  2. May - 2009
    HSSC and partners launch a year-long series of health information technology summits to develop a statewide plan for securing federal dollars to create statewide health information...
  3. October - 2009
    NIH awards $4.8 million Grand Opportunity Grant to HSSC, part of American Reinvestment and Reconstruction Act of 2009, for a unique, state of the art research permissions...
  4. October - 2009
    SmartState® Center in Technology to Enhance Healthful Lifestyles established.
2010
  1. February - 2010
    HSSC sponsors HEAL-SC, SC’s first biomedical economic development event showcasing the technologies developed by each of the HSSC sponsored SmartState® Centers to investors,...
  2. March - 2010
    HSSC forms the South Carolina Healthcare Reform Task Force with SCHA and SC DHHS to pursue research and funding related to healthcare reform from the federal government.
  3. April - 2010
    HSSC secures a $5.6 million grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT as part of U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. The money establishes CITIA-SC,...
  4. April - 2010
    HSSC gains new affiliates AnMed Health, McLeod Health and Self Regional Healthcare.
2011
  1. October - 2011
    HSSC receives $11.25 million grant from The Duke Endowment.
2012
  1. March - 2012
    HSSC launches the Research Permission Management System.
  2. July - 2012
    HSSC appoints Dr. Christine Turley as Chief Medical Officer.
2013
  1. March - 2013
    Preventing Avoidable Readmissions (PART) program established with SCHA.
  2. August - 2013
    The statewide Clinical Data Warehouse debuts, initially including data from Palmetto Health, MUSC and GHS. Training on the research tool begins.
  3. September - 2013
    CITIA-SC succeeds in getting 1,200 physicians to go live on EMR systems achieving at least Stage 1 Meaningful Use. It is one of the most successful statewide efforts in the...
  4. December - 2013
    Dr, Les Lenert appointed Chief Medical Information Officer, Endowed Chair of Healthcare Quality Medical Bioinformatics, and MUSC Chief Research Information Officer
  5. December - 2013
    HSSC President Jay Moskowitz retires. Dr. Todd Thornburg announced as interim president
2014
  1. February - 2014
    The South Carolina Surgical Quality Collaborative founded by HSSC and SCHA to establish a measurement and reporting infrastructure utilizing HSSC’s Learning Healthcare...
  2. November - 2014
    Spartanburg Regional begins contributing data to the Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW)
  3. December - 2014
    AAMC presents 2014 Learning Health System Research Champion Award to HSSC, recognizing HSSC as a national leader in learning health systems.
2015
  1. January - 2015
    Dr. Helga Rippen announced as HSSC’s new CEO and president
  2. May - 2015
    Rick Larsen joins HSSC as Chief Informatics Officer.
  3. June - 2015
    The Duke Endowment awards HSSC a third grant of $15.3 million to establish the two-state Carolinas Collaborative to address serious chronic health issues.
  4. June - 2015
    The Carolinas Collaborative is formalized.
2016
  1. January - 2016
    BCBSSC Foundation awards HSSC $3.8 million to establish South Carolina Surgical Quality Collaborative, a statewide research initiative to improve surgical quality and patient...
  2. January - 2016
    Dr. Xiaoming Li joins HSSC as Chief Analytics Officer
  3. June - 2016
    Dr. Helga Rippen steps down as CEO and President of HSSC
  4. July - 2016
    HSSC names former leader,Jay Moskowitz,as Interim President
  5. October - 2016
    HSSC joins the USC School of Medicine and MUSC in establishing TRANSFORM SC, a statewide Pediatric Clinical Trials Network funded by a $1.6 million grant from the NIH ECHO...
  6. November - 2016
    Health Sciences South Carolina Taps Meystre as Interim Chief Technology Officer
2017
  1. August - 2017
    HSSC names Kenneth R. Deans, Jr. as Chief Executive Officer