Desert View will benefit from Helmsley Charitable Trust grant

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, a global philanthropy that focuses on several areas including rural health care, awarded over $11.3 million in grants for rural health care, part of which will benefit Desert View Hospital in Pahrump.

The Nevada Community Foundation was awarded $2.2 million in the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Rural Healthcare Program. The foundation will use part of that funding for a fixed X-ray device with fluoroscopy for Desert View with the funds.

“We are thrilled to be the recipient of this grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust,” said Susan Davila, CEO of Desert View Hospital in Pahrump. “The grant will enable us to build a new Philips digital X-ray/fluoroscopy room, which will align us with the standard best practices across the U.S. for digital platform. This means our patients will receive lower radiation doses, and our health care team will have better images to review, which contributes to better patient outcomes.”

The Helmsley Charitable Trust’s recent grants will help 10 hospitals in Nevada, including with the purchase of diagnostic and radiology equipment and help with expanding simulation-based training.

The funding was announced on Tuesday at events hosted by Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson and at Renown Health in Reno.

Over the past decade, the Helmsley Charitable Trust has provided over $500 million in grants for rural health care, a release from the charitable trust stated. This funding has gone to “efforts 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,” the release said.

“We are excited the trust has chosen to invest in Nevada,” said Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak. “As governor, I am focused on improving access for all Nevadans and this will go a long way for all those who call Nevada home.”

According to Walter Panzirer, a trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, a detailed analysis of Nevada’s rural health care needs identified the state as a good fit for the charitable trust’s program. This round of funding and future investments have the potential to revolutionize how health care is delivered in the state’s rural and urban hospitals, Panzirer said in a release.

“Your zip code shouldn’t determine your health care outcomes,” Panzirer said. “These grants will help level the playing field for Nevada’s rural hospitals by giving patients access to the same state-of-the-art equipment found in urban centers.”

The funding stems from a recent survey of Nevada’s critical access hospitals. The survey identified “X-ray equipment, ultrasound machines, CT scanners and simulation-based learning as the top needs to provide patients with access to up-to-date health care technology, the release said.

“The new fixed X-ray machines, portable X-ray machines, C-arms, fixed fluoroscopy systems and computer tomography (CT) scanners purchased through these grants produce higher quality images, allowing medical staff to better assess health status and determine the proper course of treatment.”

The grant funding will also support the sustainability of the Nevada hospitals, “as newer equipment drives higher usage and supports higher reimbursement rates,” the release said.

11 hospitals that received grants in Nevada:

■ $736,000 to Boulder City Hospital for 3D mammography and mobile C-arm fluoroscopic X-ray equipment;

■ $667,000 to Grover C. Dils Medical Center in Caliente for a fixed X-ray device and a CT scanner;

■ $402,000 to Pershing General Hospital in Lovelock to purchase a CT scanner;

■ $959,000 to William Bee Ririe Hospital in Ely for a CT scanner and fixed X-ray device with fluoroscopy;

■ $1.8 million to Incline Village Community Hospital for a CT scanner, fixed X-ray device and related costs;

■ $3.6 million to Carson Valley Medical Center in Gardnerville to build and equip a hybrid cardiac cath lab/interventional radiology lab and purchase a new fixed X-ray device;

■ $518,000 to South Lyon Medical Center in Yerington for a CT scanner and a fixed X-ray device; and

■ $462,000 to Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson for a state-of-the-art medical simulation center, featuring six high-fidelity patient simulators, beds and equipment.

Panzirer, who resides in Nevada, regularly travels across the state. Panzirer said in the release that the Helmsley Charitable Trust is looking forward to replicating some of the successful programs from other states in Nevada.

At the same time, Panzirer says that the charitable trust will also be looking for innovative ideas from its health care partners.

“While replicating our successful programs from other areas is a top priority now, we look forward to learning more about the specific needs of our partners and developing first-time projects here in Nevada,” Panzirer said.