Carson Valley Medical Center receives $3.6 million grant

Carson Valley Medical Center is the recipient of a $3.6 million grant to build and equip a hybrid cardiac catheter and interventional radiology laboratory and purchase a new fixed X-ray device.

The Gardnerville hospital is one of 10 rural Nevada medical facilities to divide up $11.3 million in grants from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to purchase state-of-the-art diagnostic and radiology equipment and expand simulation-based training.

The medical center has begun a $29.3 million expansion.

The 55,000-square-foot project will expand the emergency room from five to 12 beds, increase the operating room from two limited rooms to three full-sized rooms, add two procedure rooms.

The project is estimated to create 100-150 construction jobs during the course of construction.

Gilbane Building Company has been selected to be the contractor for the expansion, and Nevada-based contractors and sub-contractors will be used when possible.

Carson Valley Medical Center is operated in a partnership between Barton Memorial Hospital and Renown Regional Medical Center.

The funding was announced Tuesday at events hosted by Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson and Renown Health in Reno, marks the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s latest rural healthcare grants, which over the past decade have provided more than $500 million to efforts 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.

Walter Panzirer, a trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said a detailed analysis of states’ rural healthcare needs identified Nevada as a great fit for Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare Program, and this funding along with future investments hold the potential to revolutionize how healthcare is delivered across Nevada’s rural and urban hospitals.

“Your zip code shouldn’t determine your healthcare outcomes,” Panzirer said. “These grants will help level the playing field for Nevada’s rural hospitals by giving patients access to the same state-of-the-art equipment found in urban centers.”

The $11.3 million in funding stems from a recent survey of Nevada’s Critical Access Hospitals, which identified x-ray equipment, ultrasound machines, CT scanners and simulation-based learning as top needs to provide patients with access to up‐to‐date healthcare technology.

The new fixed x-ray machines, portable x-ray machines, c-arms, fixed fluoroscopy systems and computer tomography scanners purchased through these grants produce higher quality images, allowing medical staff to better assess health status and determine the proper course of treatment. The grants also support the hospitals’ sustainability, as newer equipment drives higher usage and supports higher reimbursement rates.