Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The American Samoa Medical Center continues to reach out to secure additional funds for its Project Pasefika, a plan to improve and develop the local LBJ hospital, which includes a new addition, as well as upgrading and expanding its services.

During a House Health Committee hearing late last month July, the ASMC board said that the Helmsley Trust Fund had agreed to provide additional financial assistance and they were currently working on a package for the LBJ Pasefika Project.

The trust fund is a global philanthropy committed to helping people live better lives and creating stronger, healthier futures for individuals and communities.

Samoa News was recently told by an anonymous source that Helmsley Trust officials were in the Territory last month, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, for a hands-on review of the ASMC Pasefika Project.

The team included Mitch Krebs, the Program Director of Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare Program, Trista Kontz-Bartels, Program Director of Helmsley’s Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa Program and Walter Panzier, a trustee.

The officials were told about the United States Army Corps of Engineers report which included several options, the top of which was to improve the existing hospital at Fagaalu.

According to the anonymous source, CEO of LBJ Hospital Dr. Akapusi Ledua, with the Board chairman Dr. Malouamaua Tuiolosega and management employees, gave a comprehensive presentation on the hospital’s plans to expand and improve the existing facilities and services, and manpower development goals and hospital financing. The Helmsley Trust representatives were also briefed on Project Pasefika, which includes expanding the hospital, developing a strong and capable healthcare workforce, and providing opportunities for local residents to get health-related careers.

A question and answer session followed the presentation, and the visit concluded with a tour of the hospital.

BACKGROUND HELMSLEY TRUST FUND

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is a global philanthropy committed to helping people live better lives and creating stronger, healthier futures for individuals and communities.

The Helmsley Charitable Trust partners with people and organizations across the globe to invest in new ideas or research across six program areas: Crohn’s Disease, Israel, Rural Healthcare, Type 1 Diabetes, Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa, and New York City.

During their lifetimes, Harry and Leona Helmsley donated many millions of dollars to a wide range of causes, focusing primarily on health-related institutions and efforts. They left a tremendous philanthropic legacy, which paved the way for the Helmsley Charitable Trust today.

In 2008, The Helmsley Charitable Trust began its active grant-making after the passing of Leona Helmsley, who left nearly all of the Helmsleys’ estate to the Trust, giving its Trustees the responsibility to decide which charitable purposes to support. Since then, the Helmsley Trust Fund has grown from a start-up to a global philanthropy with an $8 billion endowment that works in partnership with organizations across the U.S. and select parts of the world.