Patients can now visit over 27 specialty clinics at the newly opened MUSC Children’s Health R. Keith Summey Medical Pavilion.

The MUSC Children’s Health R. Keith Summey Medi-cal Pavilion opened to patients and families April 1. Dr. Mark Scheurer, chief medical officer for MUSC Children’s Health, spoke about the new pavilion at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in March.

“I get incredibly excited thinking about how this facility is going to transform and grow comprehen-sive pediatric care for the people in this community and for all those driving from around the state to see our specialists,” Scheurer said. “From ear tubes and flu treatments to infusions and specialized outpatient surgeries, it can be done here.”

The R. Keith Summey Medical Pavilion is designed around children and their health. “Children are not mini-adults,” Scheurer said. “And they deserve a child-focused, convenient and specialized facility to handle any need, regardless of size or scope.”

The North Charleston community donated the land neces-sary for the 100,000-square-foot pavilion. MUSC Health CEO Dr. Patrick J. Cawley said, “This new facility would not have been possible without the vision and commitment of Mayor Summey, the North Charleston City Council and the community at large.”

The Summey Medical Pavilion offers pediatric specialty and surgical services in a location with convenient and enhanced access to the children and families living throughout the Tri-county area, as well as families traveling to the clinics from all corners of the state.

Among its many services and amenities, this new facility includes a pediatric ambulatory surgery facility with four operat-ing rooms, nearly 40 medical exam rooms with space for many pediatric specialists and clinics, an after-hours clinic, imaging services (MRI, CT scan and ultrasound), an EKG stress room, infusion services for very difficult and complex patient cases, a pharmacy, a lab, child life play spaces and technology that allows families to register at home or check in at the touch of a screen.

The entire patient experience is delivered in one place, which is a first for the Charleston area in terms of the level of coor-dinated, comprehensive and specialized pediatric health care available all at one convenient location.

Another first involves the facility’s connection to a research collaboration with MUSC and Clemson University. Funded by a four-year, $4 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, MUSC and Clemson University will rede-sign operating room spaces and equipment placement for better, safer and more efficient surgical outcomes.

Early simulations of the operating room designs in the new Summey Medical Pavilion have been part of the testing phase of the project, and as part of the project’s fourth year, real-time data will be collected to see how the new operating room designs improve patient care delivery.

MUSC Board of Trustees Chairman Charles Schulze sums it up: “MUSC Children’s Health will be providing the highest level of outpatient care in one location. More than 27 specialty clinics, pediatric physicians, nurses and other staff all in one space. Just imagine how that will change the patient experience for children and their families.”

Progressnotes Summer 2019