Grant to Fund Life-Saving New Technology for Law Enforcement

$6.4 Million Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant to Fund Life-Saving New Technology for Law Enforcement

at the GAGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Beatrice, NE - May 19, 2021 - In an ongoing effort to improve the cardiac system of care in the Upper Midwest, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has awarded a grant of $6.4 million to equip every law enforcement agency as well as Nebraska Game and Parks facilities with the next generation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). The grant, facilitated through the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Public Health, will fund devices to be placed in law enforcement vehicles at the Gage County Sheriff’s Office. The project includes training.

“Seconds count during a cardiac arrest,” said Walter Panzirer, a Helmsley trustee. “We know in Nebraska first responders often have great distances to cover. This funding will ensure those who get to the scene before EMS arrives give patients a better shot at survival.”

Studies conducted by the American Heart Association demonstrate a dramatically higher survival rate for cardiac patients shocked by law enforcement, who are generally first on the scene, especially in rural areas. The AEDs selected feature technology conducive to the highly mobile and challenging environment of a patrol vehicle. The AEDs will help ensure that rescuers provide the fastest first shock when defibrillation is needed. The devices feature industry-leading analysis technology that reduces pauses during CPR, allowing for improved blood circulation and better odds of survival. Using Wi-Fi connectivity, these self-monitoring devices can send near real-time event data, including a patient’s heart rhythm and delivered shocks, to incoming emergency services or receiving hospitals, thus allowing for post-event evaluation to improve care delivery.

“Sheriff Millard ‘Gus’ Gustafson would like to thank the Helmsley Charitable Trust for their generous gift. This will allow our deputies to have a life saving device in each of their patrol vehicles.”

The new devices will be placed, and training conducted at a later date, time and location. AEDs previously used by some agencies will be relocated throughout communities increasing the number of AEDs accessible to the public.

To date, the Helmsley Charitable Trust has invested more than $500 million to improve access to quality healthcare in rural America, $72 million of that in Nebraska.

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 nearly $3 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 $500 million to organizations and initiatives in the upper Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, and Montana.  For more information, visit www.helmsleytrust.org.