RAPID CITY, S.D. – In its ongoing efforts to improve the quality of rural healthcare, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announced new grants totaling more than $14.2 million to 50 hospitals in the rural Upper Midwest.
In South Dakota, the Helmsley Charitable Trust Rural Healthcare Program announced they will be giving a grant to equip every law enforcement vehicle in state with Automated External Defibrillators.
The $3.6 million grant will be overseen by the South Dakota Department of Health and will put a new LIFEPAK CR2 Automated External Defibrillators in every active law enforcement vehicle across South Dakota.
There will be 1,200 devices placed in vehicles and the project includes training for law enforcement and Game, Fish and Parks personnel.
These devices are connected to Wi-Fi and can self-monitor.
In a release, Mitch Krebs, Program Director for Rural Healthcare Program of the Helmsley Charitable Trust said, “The more every ambulance, every first responder has their hands on the latest and greatest technology for life saving, the better off we’re all going to be and that’s the single biggest benefit to the community.”
Emergency response personnel say the devises will also aide in quicker response times by law enforcement and others.
