LIHUE, August 2, 2024 – The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has added Hawaii as the ninth state in its Rural Healthcare Program, announcing a $10.6 million grant to provide Wilcox Medical Center in Kauai with state-of-the-art diagnostic and radiology equipment.
Walter Panzirer, a Trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the funding will help Wilcox Medical Center upgrade its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) treatment space, renovate its X-ray/fluoroscopy exam room, and launch Kauai’s first interventional radiology suite.
“The Helmsley Charitable Trust is thrilled to welcome Hawaii to our Rural Healthcare Program,” Panzirer said. “This grant — the first of what we expect to be many across the islands — will provide Kauai residents with top-notch diagnostic care closer to home so they don’t have to travel off-island for crucial scans and tests.”
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, M.D., said he’s honored that Helmsley has chosen to invest in the Aloha State and its residents.
“Helmsley Charitable Trust’s first generous gift in Hawaii will help ensure that people on Kauai receive the quality care we need across our state,” Green said. “Building a pipeline of committed physicians and health care professionals to our rural communities is essential to providing access to care for all, not just some.”
Jen Chahanovich, president and CEO of Wilcox Medical Center and president of Kauai Medical Clinic, said the health system is extremely grateful for Helmsley’s generous support.
“This funding will enhance our medical teams’ ability to discover an injury or illness, or to perform a lifesaving procedure, every day on Kauai,” Chahanovich said. “Wilcox is committed to staying at the forefront of medicine. This incredible investment enables us to recruit the best physicians to Kauai and provide cutting-edge care to generations of families for years to come.”
The grant will allow Wilcox Medical Center to:
The Kauai grant continues Helmsley’s philanthropic efforts in the Pacific this summer. In July, Helmsley granted more than $6.4 million to provide residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) with the territory’s first MRI machine. In June, Helmsley announced $3.2 million in grants to provide an MRI machine and other equipment to facilities in American Samoa.
Islands throughout the region share an interdependency when it comes to healthcare, so when one provider upgrades its equipment and services, all of the islands’ residents benefit, Panzirer said.
“That’s why the Helmsley Charitable Trust is so focused on expanding our support of the Pacific islands,” he said. “By providing better care closer to home, we’re ensuring better outcomes throughout the region.”
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About The Leona M. and Harry B. 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 $4.5 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 $700 million to organizations and initiatives in the states of Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and two U.S. Pacific territories. For more information, visit helmsleytrust.org.
About Wilcox Health
Wilcox Health comprises Wilcox Medical Center and Kauai Medical Clinic. A not-for-profit medical center founded in 1938, Wilcox Medical Center is the largest medical center on Kauai with a full suite of services offering 30 specialties and programs, including cardiology, emergency, family practice, gastroenterology, health management, internal medicine, neurology, OB-GYN, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics and urology. Its 18-bed Emergency Department serves as the island’s Primary Stroke Center, and its state-of-the-art acute care facility has four birthing suites, seven intensive care beds and 20 same-day surgery beds. Wilcox is the first American College of Surgeons-verified Level III Trauma Center in the state of Hawai‘i.
Kauai Medical Clinic is the island’s largest multispecialty medical group with more than 90 physicians and midlevel providers offering primary and specialty care at clinics in Eleele, Kapaa, Koloa and Lihue. Kauai Medical Clinic also offers an Urgent Care Clinic in Lihue.
Wilcox is part of Hawaii Pacific Health, one of the state’s leading health care systems and a not-for-profit health care organization with medical centers, clinics, physicians and other caregivers working together to create a healthier Hawaii. Learn more at WilcoxHealth.org.
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Dirk Lammers, dirk@ceteraservices.com