Thomas Jefferson University is proud to announce a $2 million gift from Steven H. Korman to fund the creation of the Steven H. Korman Center for Community Engagement. The Center, which will be housed in Jefferson’s Institute of Emerging Health Professions, will develop novel programs to transform both the way community members engage with health care providers and the way health care providers engage with the community.
“At Jefferson, we pride ourselves on being education entrepreneurs who emphasize a culture of care with caring,” said Charles V. Pollack, Jr., M.D., MA, FACEP, FAAEM, FESC, FAHA, FCPP, Associate Provost for Innovation in Education and Director of Jefferson’s Institute of Emerging Health Professions. “The Korman Center will allow us to educate new caregivers through the development of programs like the Community Health Worker Certificate, which will train high school graduates and GED holders to serve as a liaison between health and social services to facilitate access to the community’s vital health information and care.”
“I am honored to partner with Jefferson on its mission to provide educational and career opportunities as well as improved access to care for our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Korman, a pioneer of the furnished apartment industry and founding partner of the real estate giant, Korman Communities.
Korman has a longstanding and growing philanthropic partnership with Jefferson. Over the past two decades, he has contributed nearly $3 million to support initiatives across the institution, and his passion for the mission has inspired his family to carry on his charitable legacy. Jefferson is also renaming a conference center located in the old Federal Reserve Bank Building at 925 Chestnut Street, part of Jefferson’s Center City campus, in recognition of Korman’s generosity.
“Time and again, Steve Korman has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to innovation, to the community, to the disadvantaged among us and to Jefferson,” said Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., MBA, President and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health. “This forward-thinking philanthropic investment will help us move health care delivery from the hospital to where it is needed most—the community.”
Since Korman Communities was established by his grandfather in 1909, Korman has helped spearhead the development of more than 30,000 homes, 6,000 condominiums, 10,000 apartments, and 1.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. He is also a generous philanthropist who contributes advice and financial support to many organizations in the region in addition to Jefferson, including Project HOME, the Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA) and Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Additional programs to be established within the Steven H. Korman Center for Community Engagement include the Patient Navigator Certificate and Community-Based Nutritional Counselor Certificate.
To learn more about the Institute of Emerging Health Professions, visitwww.jefferson.edu/university/emerging-health-professions.html.
Photo: Thomas Jefferson University