Robert L. Bank, MD, Office Director

Robert Bank, MD, was appointed acting director of the South Carolina Depratment of Mental Health by the South Carolina Mental Health Commission in September of 2022.

Dr. Bank, who began his career at BHDD Office of Mental Health as Chief of Outpatient Services and Psychiatric Training director at William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute in 1982, has served the Agency in multiple leadership positions throughout his tenure.

Dr. Bank received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Loyola-Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, and completed his internship, psychiatric residency, and research fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He served nine years of active duty in the Army Medical Corps, as Chief of Outpatient Services at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center while stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and Chief of Community Mental Health Activity at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

In subsequent years, he served as medical director for programs at Palmetto Richland Hospital, Three Rivers Behavioral Health, and United Behavioral Health; in addition, he maintained a general psychiatry private practice for 22 years.

Dr. Bank became executive director of the Columbia Area Mental Health Center in 2006 and assumed a dual role as deputy director of Medical Affairs of the BHDD Office of Mental Health in 2008. He left his role as center director in 2018 and continued to serve as deputy director of Medical Affairs; at present, he maintains this position as well as his role as acting state director.

He has served as a clinical professor for the USC School of Medicine Department of Neuropsychiatry since 1984. In addition, he has served as President of the South Carolina Psychiatric Association and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is Board Certified in adult psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Bank has authored and co-authored numerous publications, most recently on the treatment of schizophrenia. He has been recognized by multiple organizations for his work, receiving the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Chapter of NAMI, the Outstanding Partner Award from the University of South Carolina Medical School Department of Neuropsychiatry, and the South Carolina Psychiatrist of the Year from NAMI-South Carolina, among others.