Department names Dr. Cassy Salgado as its first Vice Chair for Wellness

The Department of Medicine has named Cassandra Salgado, M.D., MS, as its inaugural Vice Chair for Wellness.

Dr. Salgado joined the faculty at MUSC in 2004 and has served as Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases since 2016.

“We are incredibly privileged to have Dr. Salgado assume this new role," said Ben Clyburn, M.D., Chair of the Department of Medicine. "Our department is dedicated to prioritizing the wellness of our faculty, staff, and trainees. With Dr. Salgado’s experience and expertise, we are well-equipped to advance our commitment to holistic well-being across the department.” 

In this role, Dr. Salgado will steer the strategic vision and direction for the creation, implementation, and augmentation of innovative programs for faculty well-being.

“I am thrilled and honored to assume this vice chair appointment and excited to share what I have learned through my work as Senior Associate Dean for Wellbeing, and my own personal wellbeing journey,” she said. “I have a simple goal for this role, to lead Department of Medicine efforts towards advancement of an academic workforce that promotes excellence and wellness.” 

Dr. Salgado brings a depth of experience to this role. Under her leadership, the Division of Infectious Diseases has proven to be one of the most stable and progressive divisions in the Department of Medicine, ranking high in such metrics as RVU growth, patient satisfaction and employee engagement as faculty in the division are consistently Team Index 1.

Dr. Salgado combines a broad understanding of public health with the deep experience of a lifelong clinician. She is a national thought leader in hospital epidemiology, and well known for her excellence in quality improvement and exemplary ethic of service.

She has been a mentor to many early-career faculty, chairing and serving on countless faculty mentor committees as well as advising and mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows.

Dr. Salgado has won numerous awards throughout her career, including the Department of Medicine Education Mentoring Award in 2019 and the 2023 MUSC ARROW (Advancement, Recruitment, and Retention of Women) Advancement of Women Faculty Award, further exemplifying the significant impact she has on the lives she touches.

Her academic accomplishments are equally impressive, with significant national contributions to the field of infection prevention and control. But perhaps the best demonstration of her leadership is her work as PI to fund the work of the Trident HIV/AIDS Care Coalition through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC). Today, that clinic serves over 1,200 patients annually and continues to grow.

In 2022, Dr. Salgado was named Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Development, and Wellness in the College of Medicine. She has taken on this role with zeal, working on efforts to retain faculty through retention analysis and gender equity studies (promotion and salary). She has also developed tools and milestones for academic development by track and served as a faculty counselor and advisor.

Most recently, in 2023, she served on the executive wellbeing steering committee which helped to spearhead a new venture at MUSC: the Well-Being Collective - a website for employees with resources for everything from peer support to mental health care to professional development. Dr. Salgado hopes MUSC employees take advantage of the collective. It launched at a pivotal time. A recent blog post for the American Heart association called burnout in the health care field “the new pandemic.”

“Well-being among faculty, clinicians, researchers, and learners in academic medicine is a critical issue to address at the individual level, the practice level, and the system level. In fact, leading up to the pandemic, survey studies revealed that the rate of physician burnout in major health systems increased from 35% to 56% and in 2020, a physician was almost two-and-a-half times more likely to experience burnout compared to 2014,” Dr. Salgado said.

In her new role, Dr. Salgado looks forward to exploring further opportunities to enhance wellness initiatives within the department and is grateful for this opportunity.

“My gratitude to Dr. Clyburn for recognizing the importance of this issue within the practice of academic healthcare and devoting resources towards its study and improvement,” said Dr. Salgado. “As Vice Chair for Wellness, I am committed to fostering a culture where every individual flourishes through collective wellness initiatives. I invite all stakeholders to join hands in bolstering our resilience and ability to nurture ourselves, our patients, and one another.”