PIERRE, S.D. (WNAX) – The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust will spend over three and a half million dollars to equip every emergency agency vehicle in the state with the next generation of Automated External Defibrillators.

Mitch Krebs, Program Director of the Helmsley Rural Healthcare Initiative, says this fits with their work in rural areas.

Krebs says all the first responders had a chance to get the new units.

Krebs says the new units can communicate with emergency rooms, transmitting important medical information.

He says South Dakota is the first state in line for the grant.

Krebs says the new units along with training should be in place by the end of the year.