Helmsley Trust awards $4.2 million grant to Nevada health centers for equipment
The Helmsley Charitable Trust has awarded Nevada health centers $4.2 million to purchase ultrasound equipment and support-related training, it announced Monday.
The national philanthropic organization focused largely on health initiatives and grants and founded by the late businesswoman Leona Helmsley awarded the grants to 18 health centers and clinics and two mobile care units in across Nevada – most located in rural areas, but also eight in the Las Vegas Valley.
“Our hospitals and health centers need to keep abreast of rapidly changing technology so that they can continue to provide top-notch healthcare close to home,” said Walter Panzirer, trustee and grandson of Helmsley, in a press release. “These grants help ensure Nevada facilities have the latest and greatest in ultrasound equipment.”
Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures inside the body, a cost-effective way for healthcare providers to identify relevant clinical information and make diagnoses. Fifty imaging devices will be purchased with the grants, 40 of which are portable devices for bedside or tableside care. The grants will also provide eight general ultrasound systems and four cardiovascular ultrasound systems, which facilitate imaging of the heart, according to the release.
More than $1 million of the grant will also be used to train new sonographers, the technicians behind the devices, and provide continuing education for other healthcare professionals at Great Basin College, according to the release.
Amber Donnelli, dean of health sciences and human services at Great Basin College, said the college is grateful for the equipment and training support.
“The Helmsley Charitable Trust has recognized our vision and given us an exceptional opportunity through state-of-the-art equipment, tuition assistance and more to help new students, current technologists and doctors access learning and the labs they need across Nevada. vast rural frontier not only to improve patient care, but also to save lives,” Donnelli said in the statement.
The trust has previously supported efforts to expand rural health care in the Silver State. It donated $11.3 million to 10 Nevada hospitals to expand diagnostic and radiology equipment in November 2021.
Leona Helmsley was a famous hotelier dubbed the “Queen of Wickedness” for her behavior and a tax evasion conviction in 1989. She began making significant charitable contributions in her twilight years. Most of her estate was donated to the Leona and Harry Helmsley Charitable Trust after her death in 2007.
McKenna Ross is a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
