Helmsley Charitable Trust Grants $238,556.00 to Help Mountrail County Medical Center Purchase State-of-the-Art Ultrasound Equipment
Stanley, ND — The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted $238,556.00 to Mountrail County Medical Center to purchase a Mindray TE X ultrasound system for the ER and a GE Logiq E10s for the Radiology Department as part of a $27.4 million ultrasound initiative in North Dakota.
The initiative includes more than $21.8 million to help 69 North Dakota hospitals and health centers purchase ultrasound imaging devices and nearly $5.7 million to boost sonography and point of care ultrasound (POCUS) training opportunities across the state.
“The Helmsley Foundation has provided the ability for our radiology department to bring more advanced ultrasound services to Mountrail County and our neighboring communities”, explains Brenna Williams, Radiology Manager for MCMC. “Our new machine will provide higher quality echocardiograms and more detailed imaging in pre-natal and breast exams along with general, vascular, and pediatric ultrasonography. The generosity of the Helmsley Foundation will play a key role in achieving superior diagnostic imaging and setting the standard for exceptional rural health care. 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.”
Walter Panzirer, a Trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the grants will help improve access to top-notch medical treatment for North Dakotans, whether they live in Fargo, Bismarck, or Grand Forks, or a smaller rural community such as Bottineau, Rugby, or Hettinger.
“These grants will help ensure that hospitals and health centers across North Dakota have the latest in state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment and training,” Panzirer said. “Facilities need to stay current with rapidly advancing technology so they can continue to provide the very best healthcare close to home.”
The majority (134) of the devices purchased through the grants 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 57 general ultrasound systems and 24 cardiovascular ultrasound systems, which aid in imaging of the heart.
“The Helmsley grant has allowed us the ability to update our point of care ultrasound system to provide further advanced technology to the Mountrail County Medical Center bedside,” states Brittany Haugtvedt, MCMC’s ER DON. “The new ultrasound system offers a full suite of innovative features and AI powered Smart Tools to help expedite clinical decision making. We are very grateful to the Helmsley Foundation for allowing us to have the best-in-class imaging to help provide a higher standard of care in the rural health care setting.”
The initiative also includes nearly $1.9 million to North Dakota State University and nearly $3.8 million to High Quality Medical Education (HQMEDED) to expand sonographer expertise and provide comprehensive POCUS training to doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Additionally, more than $64,000 will go to individual facilities to boost sonographer training.
The Helmsley Charitable Trust has committed a total of $72 million to fund ultrasound equipment and training initiatives for rural communities and underserved populations in Nevada, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wyoming.
(Additional information including photos and b-roll video can be downloaded from https://helmsleytrust.box.com/s/prhpsbah1ldnd5cun4lcyehhw5474zo9)
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 $4.5 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 $750 million to organizations and initiatives in the states of Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and two U.S. Pacific territories, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For more information, visit www.helmsleytrust.org.
