Helmsley Charitable Trust grants $538,148 to help Lake Region Healthcare purchase state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment in Elbow Lake, Morris and Fergus Falls
Contact: Katie Johnson
[Fergus Falls, MN] – The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted
$538,148 to Lake Region Healthcare (LRH) to purchase two shared service ultrasound systems (one for the Elbow Lake Medical Center and one for the Morris Medical Center) and a Point-of-Care Ultrasound System (POCUS) in Fergus Falls. The grants were part of a $26.4 million ultrasound initiative in Minnesota. The initiative includes nearly $18.3 million to help Minnesota hospitals and health centers purchase ultrasound imaging devices and an additional $8.1 million to boost sonography and POCUS training opportunities across the state.
“We are extremely grateful for this support from the Helmsley Trust to increase our ultrasound diagnosis capability and accuracy,” said LRH CEO, Kent Mattson. He said the shared service ultrasound systems in Elbow Lake and Morris are new devices being added to the diagnostic tools available for patients in these communities and will enhance the cardiology services available at those sites in addition to general imaging improvements. The Fergus Falls point-of-care ultrasound system allowed for a replacement of an aging system.
Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures inside the body. This safe, cost-effective tool supports other clinical information to help providers make timely diagnoses and provide appropriate treatment. “Expanding imaging services like this across our enterprise allows more patients to obtain the care they need locally, closer to home,” Mattson said.
Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the grants will help improve access to exceptional medical treatment for all Minnesotans, whether they live in the heart of Minneapolis or a smaller rural or underserved community.
“Our hospitals and health centers need to stay current with rapidly advancing technology so they can continue to provide top-notch healthcare close to home,” Panzirer said. “These grants help ensure that facilities across Minnesota have the latest and greatest ultrasound equipment and training.”
The grants were announced Tuesday during a news conference at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.
More than half of the 196 devices purchased through the grants (109) are POCUS machines, which are used by providers at the bed or tableside for immediate assessment of a patient to quickly determine a course of action. The grants will also provide 69 general ultrasound systems and 18 cardiovascular ultrasound systems, which aid in imaging of the heart.
The initiative also includes more than $8.1 million to train new sonographers, offer continuing education to sonographers and ultrasound technologists, and provide comprehensive POCUS training to doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. The training grants include more than $917,000 to the Minnesota Rural Health Association to support sonographer training in rural and underserved areas of the state, more than $1 million to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to expand St. Cloud Technical & Community College’s sonography program, and nearly $6.2 million to the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Foundation which will partner with High Quality Medical Education (HQMEDED) to provide POCUS training across the state.
“These grants are a game changer for rural hospitals across the state,” said Thomas Pahl, PA-C, an emergency department clinician, instructor with HQMEDED, and member of the Minnesota State Trauma Advisory Council. “Clinicians and sonographers will not only have access to the newest ultrasound equipment on the market, but they will also be able to pursue educational opportunities to become more proficient at use of the equipment, expand the studies they can perform, and incorporate these skills into their clinical practices.”
(Additional information including photos and b-roll video can be downloaded from https://helmsleytrust.box.com/s/vup8uxna1ykld4a1nfeikf4kmaastwnl and the news conference is being livestreamed at https://liveeventhq.com/live/helmsley/)
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About the Helmsley Charitable Trust
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting exceptional efforts in the U.S. and around the world in health and select place-based initiatives. Since beginning active grantmaking in 2008, Helmsley has committed more than $3.5 billion for a wide range of charitable purposes. Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare Program funds innovative projects that use information technologies to connect rural patients to emergency medical care, bring the latest medical therapies to patients in remote areas, and provide state-of-the-art training for rural hospitals and EMS personnel. To date, this program has awarded more than $600 million to organizations and initiatives in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, and Nevada. For more information, visit www.helmsleytrust.org.
About the Lake Region Healthcare Enterprise
The Lake Region Healthcare (LRH) enterprise is an independent, community owned and governed, non-profit healthcare organization headquartered in Fergus Falls. With facilities in nine communities, the midsized rural health system primarily serves five counties in west central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. The enterprise operates two hospitals (in Fergus Falls and Elbow Lake), 10 clinics, a cancer center, a senior living community (Mill Street Residence), and various other health and wellness related ventures. With over 1,100 employees and 120 Physicians and Advance Practice Providers, we are dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of our communities close to home and delivering specialty and sub-specialty services at our locations in Fergus Falls, Elbow Lake, Ashby, Barnesville, Battle Lake, Evansville, Herman, Hoffman, and Morris, MN. For more information visit: www.lrhc.org and https://millstreet.lrhc.org.
Our Mission: We partner to enrich life through health.
Our Vision: We will create an exceptional, innovative, and personal healthcare experience that allows people to excel and our communities to thrive.
Our Values: Excellence, Person-Centered, Collaboration, Stewardship, Integrity, Respect, Innovation.
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Attached Photo: Bethany Evenson RDMS, RVT and Hannah Huichapa RDMS, RVT demonstrate use of the shared service ultrasound machines at Lake Region Healthcare.