1801

USC, founded in 1801 in Columbia, SC, currently has a research flagship university in Columbia, four-year campus locations in Aiken, Beaufort and Spartanburg, and two-year campus locations in Lancaster, Sumter, Salkehatchie (Allendale and Walterboro) and Union (Union and Laurens). Total annual student enrollment at the University is approximately 44,500. The Columbia campus has more than 324 degree programs through its 15 degree-granting colleges and schools. Its faculty generated $212 million in funding for research, outreach, and training programs in fiscal year 2010

1912

GHS, founded as a city hospital in 1912, is a public not-for-profit academic health system committed to clinical healthcare delivery, workforce education and development and clinical research. Over the years, GHS has progressed from a standalone hospital to an integrated delivery system with academic teaching and research programs. As a public hospital with five campuses, 1,200 beds and nearly 600 employed physicians, GHS provides comprehensive health care for the 10-county upstate region of South Carolina and beyond. As both the safety net hospital and the major provider of specialty services, GHS is the predominant healthcare resource in the region. Currently, GHS has a Level I Trauma Center and Level III neonatal ICU designation. It is the largest provider of cardiovascular and obstetrical services and the only provider of children's services in the region. GHS has a rich academic history; currently there are 177 residents and fellows in 11 ACGME-accredited postgraduate residencies and fellowships and more than 550 clinical trials, 100 annual peer-reviewed publications, and 250 national peer-reviewed presentations annually. GHS is the third largest provider of continuing medical education in South Carolina, granting 900 total hours of educational programming to more than 10,000 physicians in 2010.

1960

USC's participation in undergraduate medical education dates back to the 1960s. After an extended planning period, which resulted in preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the USC School of Medicine Columbia matriculated its first class in February 1977. The charter class graduated in May 1981, at which time the school achieved full LCME accreditation.

1983

GHS began offering elective rotations for fourth-year medical students from the USC School of Medicine Columbia in 1983. Citing a common interest in healthcare education and the acknowledgment of the robust clinical activity at GHS, USC and GHS partnered to create a regional clinical teaching campus of the USC School of Medicine in Greenville in 1991. Since that time, 15 to 30 students annually relocate from Columbia to Greenville to complete their clinical clerkships at GHS.

2009

Acknowledging that South Carolina faces chronic shortages of healthcare professionals in both number and geographic distribution (ranking 37th nationally in physicians per 100,000 population[1] ), discussions quickly gravitated towards expansion of the undergraduate medical education program. Given the physical and clinical capacity constraints at the existing state medical schools, as well as the continued budgetary challenges facing the State University System, a partnership between GHS and USC was viewed as a potential mechanism to address the State's physician workforce needs. With the abundant clinical resources in Greenville, the most logical growth strategy involved expanding the campus at GHS to a four-year medical school with separate LCME accreditation. In the spring of 2009, USC and GHS authorized a feasibility study to examine the creation of a four-year medical program in Greenville. The findings of that study, presented to leadership in August 2009, included the following: 1) The medical school expansion is consistent with the mission statements and goals of the respective institutions. 2) There exists a successful 27-year history between USC and GHS of working together to create, manage and deliver existing medical education programs. 3) There exists an administrative vehicle capable of creating and overseeing a medical school. 4) There appears to be a qualified prospective medical student applicant pool in South Carolina capable of supporting an additional medical campus. 5) The existence of a de facto clinical faculty with experience in undergraduate medical education is already in place at GHS. 6) The size and composition of existing and potential cash flows is sufficient to both capitalize the startup cost and ensure ongoing operational integrity of the program.

2010

Based on the findings of the feasibility study, the Boards of Trustees of GHS and USC instructed regional academic campus leader and USC Associate Dean Jerry R. Youkey, M.D. to develop a comprehensive plan for a school of medicine in Greenville. USC School of Medicine Greenville applied for Applicant School status with the LCME in January 2010. Dr. Youkey appointed former USC President Dr. Andrew Sorensen to commission a joint task force of USC and GHS faculty and administration to create a comprehensive plan for the School of Medicine in Greenville. The task force completed its work in May 2010. From this, a Foundational Agreement was established, a multi-year financial projection completed and the mission, vision, goals and Guiding Principles were established. On August 6, 2010, the Boards of Trustees of GHS and USC approved by proclamation the creation of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.

2011

The national accrediting body for medical schools (the Liaison Committee on Medical Education) granted preliminary accreditation in October 2011, which qualified the school to begin receiving applications through the American Medical College Application Service.

2012

The School matriculated its inaugural class in the fall of 2012.

2015

The USC School of Medicine Greenville received full accreditation from LCME in the fall of 2015.

2016

On March 18, 2016, the charter class celebrated a 100 percent residency placement rate during the school’s inaugural Match Day ceremony, and in May, the Class of 2016 became the first to graduate from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.