Cheyenne — The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted $78,892 to HealthWorks to purchase a MINDRAY TE X portable ultrasound as part of a statewide ultrasound initiative across Wyoming. The initiative includes nearly $13.9 million to help Wyoming hospitals and health centers purchase ultrasound imaging devices and boost sonography and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training opportunities across the state.
Tracy Brosius, CEO of HealthWorks: “HealthWorks is honored to receive the Helmsley Charitable Trust. This equipment will allow our providers to treat patients more efficiently and eliminate delays accessing 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. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, patient resources are often limited. Historically, patients have chosen to defer potentially critical diagnostic studies due to cost. With the MINDRAY TE X point of care ultrasound unit, our providers will have the ability to treat patients more comprehensively in real-time during the medical visit. This expansion of service capability will lead to faster diagnoses, streamline and expedite the referral process when indicated, and improve patient outcomes, ultimately saving lives.
Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the grants will help improve access to quality medical treatment for all Wyoming residents, whether they live in the heart of Cheyenne or Casper or in a smaller rural 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 Wyoming have the latest and greatest ultrasound equipment and training.”
The grants were announced Thursday during a statewide news conference.
About two-thirds (97) of the 143 devices purchased through the $12.3 million in equipment 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 26 general ultrasound systems and 20 cardiovascular ultrasound systems, which aid in imaging of the heart.
The initiative also includes nearly $1.6 million for the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Initiative, which aims to enhance patient care across the state by both broadening the scope of training in specialty ultrasound and bolstering access to quality POCUS services.
(Additional information including photos and b-roll video can be downloaded from
https://helmsleytrust.box.com/s/x8s7rulkm4w0e5g3pgzlj4ipuqzg3len and the news conference is being livestreamed at Live Stream Link.)
###
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 about $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 $650 million to organizations and initiatives in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.helmsleytrust.org.
