West Ashley Medical Pavilion result of city’s, MUSC’s visions

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Medical University of South Carolina President Dr. David Cole said that, at its core, the new MUSC West Ashley Medical Pavilion represents to him what should always be the institution’s North Star: putting its patients first.

The new facility, located in the former J.C. Penney store in Citadel Mall, provides patients with easier access to state-of-the-art care in a location where “parking is awesome,” Cole said Monday evening.

MUSC hosted an event Monday to celebrate the new space and its role in the revitalization of West Ashley. The facility opened on Dec. 30 and provides more than 20 services, including family medicine, eye care, physical therapy, cardiology and neurosciences.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the new facility is important in many ways, including for urban development. He said the city has a new vision in which services, shopping and employment can all be provided within West Ashley.

“So then, it’s more convenient for everyone,” Tecklenburg said. “We can spend less time in our cars and more time enjoying life and improving our quality of life. It’s a game changer.”

Tecklenburg said the vision for Citadel Mall and the epicenter of West Ashley is to have a vibrant mix of medical services, retail, a job center, movie production studio, and sports and recreation.

Citadel Mall is owned by Trademark Properties, a real estate company operated by Richard and Ginger Davis. Richard Davis complimented Cole and MUSC Health CEO Dr. Patrick Cawley for opening the new medical pavilion, which he said was a big risk.

“They could have done this anywhere, and they decided to invest and come over to West Ashley,” Davis said. “So, I want to thank them.”

Cawley said MUSC knew about five years ago that it had to expand to West Ashley. He said the medical institution had big plans, but every location they looked at was limited in some way. And then the Citadel Mall location became a reality.

“Now, we were also met with a lot of skepticism,” Cawley said. “But we saw the opportunity to fulfill the vision of placing world-class care inside the community that we serve by bringing a level of access and specialty care to West Ashley.”

Patients no longer have to go downtown to get specialty care, Cawley said. The specialties offered at the MUSC West Ashley Medical Pavilion are supported by 96 exam rooms, an ambulatory surgery center with two operating rooms and two procedure rooms, a full diagnostic imaging center, pharmacy and laboratory services.

“That was our vision,” Cawley said. “So, we’ve accomplished that here with a great amount of parking.”

Cawley said MUSC Health is humbled that the medical pavilion will stand as a symbol of its contribution and commitment to the revitalization of West Ashley.