Dr. Steven and Rebecca Scott Commit $20 Million to Duke Medicine

When it comes to health care, Durham, NC is considered among the best places in the US to come for top-notch care.  Among the six hospitals here is the Duke University Health System - and that system just got a lot healthier.

Dr. Steven Scott and his wife, Rebecca Scott, have committed $20 million to expand Duke’s sports medicine programs, including clinical and research program development, faculty recruitment and retention, and support for sports medicine training, as well as provide support for the Duke University School of Medicine.

Under the direction of Claude T. Moorman, M.D., Duke Sports Medicine currently comprises the Duke Sports Medicine Clinic, Duke Sports Medicine Physical Therapy, the Michael W. Krzyzewski Human Performance Lab and the Duke Sports Performance Program. It is a division of the Duke Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

“Steve has worked closely with our sports medicine team to make a gift that will help build a multi-disciplinary program for athletes of all ages,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System. “This gift will be a catalyst for discovery and innovation, and we are very grateful to Steve and Becky.”

President Richard H. Brodhead said the gift will have a far-reaching effect.

“Steve and Becky Scott are wonderful partners with both Duke University and Duke Medicine,” Brodhead said. “This generous gift will allow our sports medicine program to grow to better serve athletes at Duke and beyond: our trainees will go on to advance research and care, while the research insights generated at Duke will have an impact on the field of sports medicine.”

Scott is a member of the Campaign Steering Committee for Duke Forward, the $3.25 billion university-wide fundraising campaign launched last September. He is also on the planning committee for “Medicine that Changes the World,” Duke Medicine’s $1.2 billion fundraising effort.

“I see a great opportunity for Duke Medicine to differentiate itself in sports medicine,” said Scott, a member of the Duke University Health System Board of Directors. “I truly believe Duke Orthopaedics is one of Duke’s signature programs, and I hope this gift will benefit both the department and Duke University School of Medicine.”

Leaders of Duke Sports Medicine said the Scotts’ gift would have a lasting impact on their program.
"The Scott Family has given us the resources through this gift to build the top sports medicine center in the country,” Moorman said. “It will allow us to integrate orthopaedic and primary care services with sports performance specialists, research scientists, sports psychology, sports nutrition and physical therapy, all to the advantage of our patients."

“Steve and Becky’s generous gift will enable Duke Sports Medicine to achieve its mission to assist athletes at all levels in reaching maximum performance,” added James R. Urbaniak, M.D., the Virginia Flowers Baker Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and former chair of orthopaedic surgery. “At Duke, we are fortunate to align world-class clinical specialists with championship athletic programs to achieve a level of excellence that benefits Duke Athletics, the medical center and the community.”

In October, Scott and his wife committed $10 million to Duke Athletics to help support the activities and programs in a new 35,000-square-foot building that will house ticket offices, a team store and training rooms. The gift was the largest ever to Duke Athletics at the time.

Steve Scott is the retired chairman of the medical investment company, Scott Holdings, LLC. He has nearly 35 years of experience in medicine and medical business. He also serves as an assistant consulting professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University School of Medicine; president of the Scott Family Foundation; and a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Florida. He is a member of the North Carolina Medical Society and the Florida Medical Association, among others.

He received a medical degree from Indiana University, completed internship and residency training at Duke University Medical Center from 1974-78 and is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. He founded Coastal Physician Group (later named PhyAmerica), a company specializing in providing physicians and mid-level providers for emergency departments and other specialty services. Throughout the 1990s, he purchased several health maintenance organizations and eventually re-organized them into Florida Health Plan Administrators LLC/Vista Healthplan. Vista generated annual revenues of more than $1.2 billion and was sold to Coventry Health Care, Inc., in 2007.

Rebecca Scott is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who went on to earn an allied health certificate in nurse anesthesiology from Duke in 1979. She served on the board of Durham Academy, The Hill Center and the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood while the Scott family resided in Durham. After moving to south Florida, she served on the board of St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, where the three youngest Scott children graduated from its upper school.

The Scotts, who live in Boca Raton, have five children, including two who currently attend the Duke University School of Medicine.

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Duke's Graduate and Professional Schools Highly Rated in Latest U.S. News Rankings

Duke University’s graduate and professional schools continue to rank among the top institutions in their disciplines, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

Duke’s medical school tied for fifth for research, up from a tie for sixth last year; the nursing school tied for seventh, its highest ranking ever; the law school remained 11th; and the Fuqua School of Business rose two places to 12th.

For the second consecutive year, the Pratt School of Engineering rose two places in the rankings, to end up in a tie for 31st.

Medical school deans and faculty selected the best medical specialty programs, and Duke was recognized in geriatrics (fourth), internal medicine (fourth), women’s health (fifth), AIDS (eighth) and family medicine (10th). It tied for 41st in primary care.

Under health disciplines, Duke’s physician assistant program was rated first. The School of Nursing’s pediatric nurse practitioner program was rated fifth, its adult nurse practitioner and gerontological nurse practitioner programs were each ranked 10th, and its nursing-anesthesia program was tied for 11th.

Within the business school ratings, Duke was ranked third in marketing, fourth for executive MBA program, fourth in international (up from a tie for sixth last year), ninth in management and 12th in finance.

Within engineering, Duke ranked fourth for biomedical and bioengineering, 21st for environment/environmental health, 24th for mechanical engineering, 28th for computer engineering and 31st for electrical/electronic communications.

In a new category, U.S. News asked the people who do the hiring at the nation’s top law firms to rate the academic quality of each law school, and Duke finished in a tie for eighth. Within the law school rankings, Duke was rated 11th for intellectual property law.

In addition, the magazine republished older rankings for numerous other doctoral programs and health fields, including the social sciences and humanities.

According to U.S. News, the magazine’s methodology is based on two types of data: “expert opinion about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research, and students.” The magazine said its data came from surveys of “more than 1,200 programs and some 13,000 academics and professionals, conducted during the fall of 2010 and early 2011.”