Health & Wellness 
A $2 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust is making life easier for Monument Health’s most vulnerable patients.
To a newborn baby, the world outside the womb can seem like a very hostile environment. When the baby is born several weeks early, the environment is downright deadly. To survive, the tiny infant needs a warm, oxygen-rich setting. Modern hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) are designed to meet those needs. But when the tiny baby needs surgery or a higher level of care than the birth hospital can provide, the child must travel by ambulance, helicopter or airplane. To help make the journey as safe as possible, Monument Health now has two Airborne Transport Incubators, sophisticated devices that provide all of the child’s needs during transit.
The transport devices were part of a recent $2 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The trust’s Rural Healthcare program aims to improve access to quality healthcare in sparsely populated, rural areas that often struggle to provide the level of care that urban areas enjoy. In all, the Helmsley grant allowed Monument Health to buy more than 20 advanced NICU and pediatric medical devices.
“The Helmsley Charitable Trust’s transformative gift of more than $2 million will help ensure that our most vulnerable patients receive the highest level of critical care when they need it most,” said Paulette Davidson, Monument Health President and CEO. “This investment in life-saving equipment demonstrates their deep commitment to improving children’s health care in our region.”
High-Frequency Ventilators
The Helmsley Trust donation also made it possible for Monument Health to acquire high-frequency oscillatory ventilator (HFOV) equipment that gently pumps oxygen into a child’s tiny lungs.
Regular mechanical ventilators pump air at the rate of 30 to 60 breaths per minute. That can be difficult for underdeveloped lungs. The high-frequency oscillatory ventilators circulate air at the rate of thousands of times per second. Oxygen goes in and carbon dioxide comes out with barely a perceptible flutter.
For Dom and Abbie Milliken of Rapid City, whose daughter, Laney, contracted a life-threatening viral infection at 6 weeks of age, the HFOV allowed them to stay close to home while Laney recovered. Now, the rosy-cheeked Laney is a happy, healthy 1-year-old.
“If we didn’t have the oscillator at that time, Laney would have had to be transferred to another hospital, either across the state or in a different state, to get the care that she needed,” said Kyle Lemley, M.D., Medical Director for Rapid City Hospital’s Children’s Program.
“In Rapid City, we consider ourselves an oasis in a care desert, as we are more than 350 miles from the nearest children’s hospital,” Dr. Lemley said.
The Helmsley Charitable Trust
“Bringing life-saving care closer to home is a priority for the Helmsley Charitable Trust”, said Walter Panzirer, a Helmsley Trustee. That’s especially important for families of NICU babies.
“An infant’s extended NICU hospital stay can lead to months away from home for families, which can be financially and emotionally draining,” Panzirer said. “The addition of this equipment will ensure that families in the region spanning South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming can access the same top-notch care available to residents of major cities.”
The Helmsley Charitable Trust began active grantmaking in 2008 after the passing of Leona Helmsley, a New York hotelier and real estate developer.
Panzirer, a grandson of Leona Helmsley, was raised in California and subsequently lived in South Dakota, having worked as a first responder in both states, he saw the disparities that affected the quality of health care in rural areas. As a Helmsley Trustee, he has made it a priority to improve access to health care in nine rural American states and two U.S. Pacific territories.
Under Panzirer’s guidance, Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare program has invested in telemedicine, expanded access to behavioral health services and increased the availability of lifesaving equipment and technology.
“Our partnership with the Helmsley Charitable Trust has opened the door for unlimited possibilities. We are so blessed to have a charitable trust that believes in supporting rural health care throughout South Dakota,” said Hans Nelson, Director of the Monument Health Foundation.
With this Helmsley grant, Monument Health Foundation works to expand health care capabilities through funds from organizations like The Helmsley Charitable Trust, and individual donors like you. Monetary gifts help ensure that the region’s most vulnerable patients will be able to survive—and eventually thrive—despite the hostile environment of the outside world.
Women’s Children’s Hospital Children’s expansion announced
In the spring of 2026, Monument Health will break ground on a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Kyle Lemley, M.D., Medical Director for the hospital Children’s Program, made the announcement during a March press conference for the Helmsley Charitable Trust donation. Monument Health has been raising money and laying plans for the project since 2022. It will be the first major expansion of the pediatrics and Neonatal Intensive Care departments since 1983. The three-story, 25,000-square-foot Women’s and Children’s Hospital will be located in the northwest corner of the Rapid City Hospital campus at Fairmont Boulevard and Fifth Street. It will include a lobby for the children and birthing areas, a new NICU and a space for future postpartum care.