The Platte Valley Healthcare Project (PVHP) has received a $500,000 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to purchase an advanced computed tomography (CT) scanner for the North Platte Valley Medical Center.
A CT scanner is a high-resolution imaging device that combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around the body and uses computer processing to create detailed cross-sectional images of bones, blood vessels and soft tissues. CT scanning has a wide array of medical diagnostic uses, including for complex traumas such as motor vehicle accidents as well as to detect cancers and vascular diseases that can lead to stroke, pulmonary embolism, aneurysms and kidney failure.
“All of these uses make CT scanners a vital component of rural medicine,” said Karran Bedwell, a member of the PVHP Medical Advisory Committee. “Having a CT scanner on site will allow providers at North Platte Valley Medical Center to assess, diagnose and treat patients locally avoiding unnecessary transfers to tertiary facilities.”
The Helmsley grant will enable PVHP to purchase and install a CT scanner and needed ancillary equipment and supplies, help pay for the service agreement and train staff. These steps will be completed prior to the hospital opening in the summer of 2022, so the scanner is available immediately for patient care.
“Having this kind of diagnostic capability here will help save lives and provide better treatment options for the community,” said Bedwell. “The grant application emphasized the distance people living in the region must travel to access healthcare when the local clinic is closed, or the service is not available at the clinic. The only route to the closest hospital requires travel on Interstate 80, which is closed 50-75 days a year because of weather.”
The Helmsley Charitable Trust supports organizations to invest in a variety of program areas, including Rural Healthcare. Over the past decade, Helmsley has been dedicated to making sure that the vibrant communities of the rural, upper Midwest have access to modern healthcare and equipment, including an initiative to support funding of CT scanners to Critical Access Hospitals in rural communities.
“Our goal is to ensure that people who live in rural America have access to quality healthcare as close to home as possible,” said Walter Panzirer, a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “To achieve this, rural hospitals need to be viable, and they need to have up-to-date equipment, so patients can receiveessential healthcare services locally. Our equipment initiatives aim to improve healthcare access and health outcomes across the upper Midwest.”
Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare Program brings the latest medical therapies to patients in remote areas and provides state-of-the- art training for rural hospitals and EMS personnel. To date, this program has awarded more than $500 million to organizations and initiatives in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa and Montana. For more information, visit http://www.helmsleytrust.org.
“The North Platte Valley Medical Center is a fantastic project,” Bedwell said. “I wanted to be involved from the moment I heard of it. This hospital will be a raging success and a huge asset to Saratoga and the surrounding region. It’s about getting people the healthcare they need.”
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