COLUMBIA, S.C. — A well known Midlands philanthropist is retiring.
Samuel Tenenbaum helped raise over $72 million for Prisma Health, benefitting the Midlands for years to come.
"You've always gotta pinch yourself," he said. "How did this little boy from Savannah, the son of an immigrant, get here?"
Tenenbaum, whose philanthropy spans more than four decades, knows how to mobilize the good people in our community.
"It's not any one of us. It's together how we do this," he said.
For the past 12 years, as President of the Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, Tenenbaum's work paved the way for countless patients to get the care they need.
"The great part is we don't know all of those individuals and they don't know us. So it's sort of the highest form of charity. You're anonymous, but we're providing the necessary services to help and prolong life," said Tenenbaum, who started his role with the foundation in July 2009. "That's just a great, joyful feeling."
One of the keys to exceptional health care, he says, is technology - and it's expensive.
By teaching potential donors about where their money was going and who it would help, Prisma Health received state-of-the-art equipment under Tenenbaum's tenure.
"People would take a tour and they'd hear the doctors and nurses talk and say, 'I'll help you.' Some people would write a check for $50,000 to buy that one piece of equipment," Tenenbaum explained. "When people make a donation, the impact is just not for now, it continues to give and give in the future."
During his tenure with the Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, Tenenbaum also helped secure funding to create vital programs for the hospital that help child abuse and behavioral health patients.
In 2001, following the terror attacks of 9/11, Tenenbaum worked with White Knoll students to raise money.
Over half a million dollars bought Brooklyn Company 101 in New York City a new fire truck, earning the students a spot on a float in the 2001 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
White Knoll students' idea to purchase a new firetruck for New York firefighters, they learned, was actually returning a favor.
In 1867, New York City gave Columbia a fire buggy after equipment got burned during the Civil War.
"If you get involved in any particular thing, it became the paramount thing that you had to do," said Tenenbaum. "You did your best for it."
In 2005, Tenenbaum led the Midlands relief operations coordinating an evacuation shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
"It was about the community. Not me, not us volunteers, but all of us," he said. "We brought in over 2,200 people within 24 hours and we took care of them."
"When the president of the American Red Cross said we set the standard for the nation, that was an incredible statement," he added. "It was about the community."
That same year, Tenenbaum received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the United Way.
Thinking back on his years of service, Tenenbaum quoted Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awakened to find that life was duty. Behold, I acted and duty was joy."
Tenenbaum's retirement is effective June 1.
When asked what his plans are when he retires, Tenenbaum says he plans to get back to the gym and live in the mountains. The single item left on his bucket list, he says, is to also visit Normandy to pay his respects.
“We will forever be grateful to Samuel for immeasurable contributions to philanthropy in the Midlands over the past 12 years. He has been the driving force to raise awareness and funds for causes championed by our Foundation to benefit Prisma Health—Midlands,” said Reed Mattingly, chair, Prisma Health Midlands Foundation board of directors. “Samuel’s philanthropic impact goes far beyond the Midlands Foundation. His boundless energy and passion for helping others, near and far, has inspired many and will impact our community for generations to come. It has been an honor to work with Samuel, and we wish him the best.”
"Our 2005 Humanitarian of the Year, Sam's history of service to our community has been truly exceptional. In addition to being a member of United Way's Tocqueville Society for more than 20 years, Sam worked with United Way to create Vital Connections of the Midlands in 2004. In 2005, United Way worked under Sam's leadership to lead a community-wide effort to host hundreds of Louisianans displaced by Hurricane Katrina. We are grateful for his lasting contributions toward making the Midlands a better place for us all," said United Way of the Midlands President and CEO Sara Fawcett.
“We were honored to have Sam Tenenbaum serve on the Board of Trustees of Pawmetto Lifeline. He Chaired the Development Committee for our $4.5 million Capital Campaign. As we all know, Sam is a very compassionate person about all living creatures and we were proud to have Sam in the early years of formalizing our vision of building a state of the art adoption, medical and education center. He was and continues to be a huge advocate for animals. We have no doubt he will continue to respond to the needs of his community in NC as he begins his retirement. We were blessed to have his service," said Denise D. Wilkinson, CEO Pawmetto Lifeline.
According to the Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, the programs and technology Tenenbaum helped fund for hospitals include:
- The Child Abuse Medical Assessment Program, established at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in the Midlands. The assessment program helps Child Abuse Pediatrics health care providers and other team members evaluate children sooner and helps remove them from dangerous abuse or neglect situations
- The Joyce Martin Hill Behavioral Health Center, established at Prisma Health Richland Hospital. The center provides specialized emergency care to behavioral health patients
- A SimCOACH™ Mobile Simulation Laboratory for the Prisma Health-University of South Carolina School of Medicine Simulation Center. SimCOACH™ is a fully equipped mobile simulation platform that extends the Simulation Center team’s ability to provide high-tech simulation-based training to health care providers across the state. SimCOACH™ has been used recently to support Prisma Health mobile COVID-19 vaccination sites in the Midlands
- Nine 3D Digital Mammography for Prisma Health Breast Center locations and the mobile mammography unit
- A new, highly specialized critical care ambulance for the Prisma Health Midlands Pediatric Transport team and Prisma Health Children’s Hospital of the Midlands. The new ambulance transports critically premature and severely ill children within a 16-county region of S.C.
- A 16-Slice Portable CT Scanner, the only one in S.C., was funded for Prisma Health Richland Hospital. The scanner is used by the Neuroscience team to care for stroke and brain injury patients
The community is encouraged to send Samuel retirement wishes before May 31, 2021: http://bit.ly/samuelwishes