![](https://prismahealthupstatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/lommel-karen-600x300-1.jpg)
Prisma Health receives a $1.5 million gift from The Jolley Foundation to establish The Robert A. Jolley Jr. Endowed Chair of Psychiatry and Community Health as well as Upstate mental health initiative
Innovative program could become a model for community-academic medical center partnerships.
GREENVILLE, SC — Prisma Health announced today (Tuesday, Feb. 22) the creation of an endowed chair of psychiatry and community health and a new mental health initiative funded by a $1.5 million gift from The Jolley Foundation and its trustees.
The Robert A. Jolley Jr. Endowed Chair of Psychiatry and Community Health will be held by Dr. Karen Lommel, an adult and child/adolescent psychiatrist who is chair of psychiatry for Prisma Health in the Upstate as well as a practicing emergency medicine physician.
The endowment will fund a broad mental health initiative to provide innovative outreach and improved access in the Upstate. “It will strengthen the bridge between psychiatric and primary care,” said Lommel. “Our goal is that this becomes a model of what can be achieved through community partnerships and the expertise of an academic medical center like Prisma Health.”
“The gift will support community health needs through enhanced educational and engagement opportunities in the Upstate, such as support for mental health research, community projects in collaboration with the Well Being Partnership of Greenville County and even monthly lectures from world-renown leaders in mental health,” said Lommel. “The innovative program will help Prisma Health attract and retain world-class psychiatrists to Greenville.”
The endowed chair is named in memory of Robert A. Jolley Jr. and celebrates his pioneering interest in mental health in Greenville County. The gift was made by The
Jolley Foundation, along with trustees James McDuffie Bruce III and Jolley Bruce
Christman. For four generations, the Jolley Foundation has worked to make Greenville County a place where all residents can thrive. It partners with
community organizations that create positive social change and is committed to seeing that social, economic and cultural inequity are dismantled.
“Our uncle, Robert (Bob) Jolley Jr., was a wonderful man who cared deeply for others. We established the endowed chair to celebrate him and his pioneering interest in mental health in Greenville County and to create a lasting legacy to honor him and the fact that he made it a priority to welcome our first psychiatrist, Dr. Ike Brownell, to Greenville,” said James McDuffie “Duff” Bruce III, board chair for the Jolley Foundation.
Additionally, the endowment will fund:
· Seed grant opportunities for patient-focused psychiatry faculty research and fund residency program educational opportunities.
· The annual Jolley Award, to be given to an outstanding psychiatry resident, fellow, or student learner whose research and commitment to patient care exemplify the future of the field.
“This gift is an ongoing demonstration of The Jolley Foundation’s commitment to excellence in mental health in our community,” added Lommel. “Both Prisma Health and our community are indebted to them; we intend to honor the legacy of their uncle for generations to come.”
Lommel joined Prisma Health in 2016. She received a medical degree, a master’s in healthcare administration and a master’s degree in clinical research. She also completed a combined residency training program in pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry as well as an emergency medicine residency at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a not-for-profit health company and the largest healthcare system in South Carolina. With nearly 30,000 team members, 18 acute and specialty hospitals, 2,947 beds and more than 300 outpatient sites with nearly 2,000 physicians, Prisma Health serves more than 1.2 million unique patients annually in its 21-county market area that covers 50% of South Carolina. Prisma Health’s goal is to improve the health of all South Carolinians by enhancing clinical quality, the patient experience and access to affordable care, as well as conducting clinical research and training the next generation of medical professionals. Visit PrismaHealth.org for more information.