Perham Health receives grant from Helmsley Charitable Trust
News | Published on April 10, 2023 at 3:49pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0Grant to help local facility purchase state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted $38,000 to Perham Health to purchase vascular ultrasound equipment as 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 point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training opportunities across the state.
“We are very grateful to the Helmsley Charitable Trust for their generous gift,” said Chuck Hofius, Perham Health CEO. “The ability to perform vascular ultrasound right here will have a profound effect on our patients by eliminating travel and providing faster diagnoses and treatment plans.”
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 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.”
More than half of the 196 devices purchased through the grants (109) are POCUS machines used by providers at the bed or tableside for immediate patient assessment to quickly determine a course of action. The grants will also provide 69 general and 18 cardiovascular ultrasound systems, aiding heart imaging.
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. In addition, 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 Minnesota State Trauma Advisory Council member. “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 the use of the equipment, expand the studies they can perform, and incorporate these skills into their clinical practices.”