MUSC Health and Tribe513 have announced an agreement to pursue a collaboration in the Upstate of South Carolina. The two-part goal of the relationship is to expand access and patient care coordination in the region, and, concurrently, to develop new and enhance existing training and education programs for medical providers and students. The organizations signed a letter of intent in March and have been working toward finalizing the agreement. 

“As the state’s only comprehensive academic health sciences center, MUSC is charged with serving the health care needs of the entire state,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO of MUSC Health and vice president for Health Affairs, University. “To fulfill our statewide mission, we are excited at the prospect of building new and novel connections like this Tribe513 relationship, which will enhance our ability to train South Carolina’s future care providers and, thereby, deliver the highest quality care available to more patients and families in the Upstate.”

Founded in 2006, Tribe513 is an independent medical practice serving the Upstate through its more than 350 team members, 12 practice locations and five divisions – Parkside Pediatrics, Brio Internal Medicine, Brio Aesthetics, Parkside OB-GYN and the Breastfeeding Center of Greenville. Tribe513 will remain a privately owned practice and continue to provide the unique faith-based, people-centered approach that it is widely recognized for offering to patients in the region. Additionally, existing relationships will continue between Tribe513 and the high-quality hospitals and health care facilities they currently utilize for patient resources.

“What brought Tribe513 and MUSC together is a genuine openness to new ideas and collaborative ways to innovate health care in the Upstate. Most importantly, we are united by a shared commitment to loving and serving our teams, providers, patients and our communities,” said Tribe513 CEO David Martin. “Together, we can have a greater impact than either of us could have on our own. We are excited to be working hand in hand with MUSC in an effort to offer local physicians more freedom in how they practice, to increase access to care for patients, and to provide better connectivity to specialty care, clinical trials, medical research and education.”

For more than two decades, MUSC has worked closely with education and affiliate partners in the Upstate. 

“Now more than ever, in the midst of this global pandemic, MUSC must be forward thinking and acting,” said MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS. “Aligning with Tribe513 presents opportunities to expand residency training positions and keep more medical school graduates in South Carolina, which in the long term will broaden access to specialists for Upstate patients.”