The Helmsley Charitable Trust announced Monday that it's distributing more than $4.7 million to Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and the Dakotas to pay for 367 LUCAS mechanical CPR devices to be deployed to hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients.

"These devices are vital because we don’t want frontline healthcare workers to choose between trying to save a patient or risking exposure to themselves and others to the coronavirus," said trustee Walter Panzirer.

"LUCAS has been a proven, effective tool in saving lives during cardiac arrest, and having more of them available during this pandemic will save even more lives, including those of the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers," he added.

The grant will fund the purchase of eight LUCAS devices for Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

"(This) will enable us to have a LUCAS machine on every floor of the hospital, one at our Cancer Center and one at our East Campus," said Minh Ho, Chair of CRMC’s Code Blue Committee.

Panzirer says Helmsley is partnering with hospitals in the five states to ensure the devices are in place before the peak of COVID-19 hits. He says the devices will remain in place after the pandemic as part of the hospitals’ cardiac system of care.

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Images from the 1918 Flu Pandemic

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