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Helmsley Charitable Trust grants $191,358 to help Welia Health purchase state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment
Welia Health benefits from a $191,358 grant by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The grant is part of a larger $26.4 million ultrasound initiative in Minnesota, aiming to enhance ultrasound imaging and boost sonography and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training opportunities in Minnesota. In addition to nearly $18.3 million allocated to assist hospitals and health centers in purchasing ultrasound equipment, the remaining $8.1 million will go towards training opportunities. The grant to Welia Health will facilitate the acquisition of new ultrasound equipment for Dr. Mullin’s Sports Medicine clinic and the OB and emergency departments.
“Welia Health is extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The new equipment replaces units nearing the end of their useful life while allowing more permanent placement within departments as opposed to sharing between those that heavily rely on this technology, clinic, OB and the emergency department. The permanent presence of these devices in departments improves the clinicians’ ability to make a timely diagnosis and offer the proper treatments. Along with helping to improve the health of the communities it serves, grants such as these support Welia Health in continuing to offer the innovative care it promises to its patients,” said Welia Health’s CEO, Randy Ulseth.
Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the grants would 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, March 21, 2023, during a news conference at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.
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 determine a course of action quickly. 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 the use of the equipment, expand the studies they can perform, and incorporate these skills into their clinical practices.”
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 helmsleytrust.org.