A distinguished group of people — including Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, House Speaker Nadine Nakamura, and Rep. Dee Morikawa — was on hand Tuesday to learn that the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust granted more than $10.6 million to help the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital expand and develop its MRI suite.
The Helmsley Charitable Trust is granting an additional $631,000 to KVMH to help the hospital expand simulation healthcare training.
“Access to timely, state-of-the-art diagnostic modalities such as MRI in Neighbor Island communities is crucial to our rural safety net healthcare system in Hawaii,” said Gov. Josh Green, M.D. in a press release. “The generosity of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust enhances KVMH’s ability to deliver premier care to the people of Kauai County. We are humbled and honored by this gift.”
Green was represented by Luke who relayed a personal healthcare emergency suffered by her husband, and the miracle of modern technology. Morikawa and Nakamura had a similar sagas.
MRI machines produce detailed images of the internal structures of the human body using magnetic and radio waves. The scans can help clinicians detect aneurysms, stroke, multiple sclerosis, tumors, brain injuries, conditions of the eyes, and more.
“Thanks to the generous support of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, access to MRI services will be expanded for Kauai, bringing care closer to home for our residents,” said Lance Segawa, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Kauai Region CEO. “This investment helps reduce the need for patients to travel to Oahu for imaging, easing both the financial and emotional burden that such trips often place on individuals and families. It is a meaningful step toward strengthening local healthcare and ensuring our community receives timely, compassionate care it deserves.”
Segawa added the new MRI suite will be accessible to high school students to help inspire them to careers in healthcare, namely “growing our own doctors.”
The KVMH new MRI suite will introduce advanced breast imaging services to Kauai, improving early cancer detection for the island’s residents. The machine’s wide-bore design will also improve the comfort for bariatric, claustrophobic, and pediatric patients who may need accommodations not currently available on the island.
“Your zip code should not determine your health outcomes, and Kauai residents should be able to access the same life-saving diagnostic technology available to those living in urban centers,” said Walter Panzirer, a Trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust in the release. “The Helmsley Charitable Trust is excited to help Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital provide this crucial care to residents closer to their homes.”
The KVMH new, state-of-the-art MRI machine and treatment space that will be situated close to the hospital’s current Imaging space, will lessen the need for off-island transport, reduce backlogs, and improve patient comfort.
The Simulation Learning Lab, which was dedicated a few weeks ago, will serve as a dedicated space offering accessible educational resources for medical providers, clinical and non-clinical staff, nursing students, and high school students aspiring to enter the healthcare field.
For more information on the Helmsley Charitable Trust, visit the website www.helsleytrust.org. For more information on the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, visit the website www.Kauai.hhsc.org.
Source: The Garden Island