Helmsley Charitable Trust grants ultrasounds to SJH

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has granted $273,054 to St. John’s Health Foundation to purchase four point-of-care ultrasound units as part of a statewide ultrasound initiative across Wyoming. The units are already in use at St. John’s Health outpatient clinics in Teton Village and Lander, as well as in the Birth Center and Emergency Department of the hospital. 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.

Nurse Lead Jenifer Hoover remarked, “The ultrasound for FAST exams at Urgent Care in Teton Village has been great! We use it for patients with possible organ trauma after a fall. We have also used it to detect cardiac activity during codes to guide resuscitation efforts. It has been a very helpful tool to have since we do not have a CT scan on-site.”

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.

St. John’s Health Foundation President Anna Olson shared “St. John’s Health serves thousands of patients each year through our main hospital, outpatient clinics, and urgent care. To have this technology both in our high-volume departments and our remote outpatient locations is significant and helps our clinicians provide excellent care with state-of-the-art technology.”

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.”

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.