Department of Medicine Health Equity Council

Message from the Vice Chair for Health Equity:

The Department of Medicine is proud to be the largest department at the Medical University of South Carolina. We are committed to excellence in patient care, education, and service to our community. In doing so, we recognize the importance of promoting an environment that honors and respects the differences that make us great so that we may best support the advancement and development of all our trainees, staff and faculty. Our unique perspectives, experiences and aptitudes bring added value to the environment and help create a culture that is authentic and well-equipped to meet the needs of the diverse population whom we serve.

An inclusive environment recognizes the power of those attributes which make us unique. We are well-positioned to cultivate and promote this climate because of a unifying commitment to delivering exceptional care and service to others.

I am honored to work alongside my colleagues as we continue to move health equity efforts forward within the Department of Medicine.

Aundrea Loftley, M.D.
Associate Professor
Division of Endocrinology
Vice Chair for Health Equity
Department of Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina

Message from the Chair:

As our first Vice Chair for Health Equity, Dr. Loftley will provide vision and leadership in cultivating an inclusive community that embraces diversity among trainees, faculty, and staff to address the needs of the varied populations we serve.

Our department is proud to have people from a wide range of backgrounds all working in pursuit of a common mission: to provide superior patient care, to educate the next generation of physicians, and to perform seminal discovery research. In light of the discussion the country is having around racial diversity, we acknowledge that we have a lot of work to do as well and we created this position in May 2021 to further our commitment to diversity. We believe that a more equitable department is more beneficial to everybody, and allows us to provide more excellent care, and continue to conduct top-notch research.

Dr. Loftley completed her medical school training, internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at MUSC. In 2015, after completing her fellowship in endocrinology, she established the first outpatient endocrinology practice for McLeod Physician Associates at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, South Carolina. In 2018, Dr. Loftley joined the MUSC faculty as assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolic Diseases. Dr. Loftley is board certified in both internal medicine and endocrinology.

In addition to providing care for patients, Dr. Loftley is committed to medical education in her current role as associate program director for our internal medicine residency program. She also serves as a Master Clinical Skills Teacher for the College of Medicine. Her research interest is in health disparities related to diabetes.