SAIPAN — Northern Marianas College announced it has been awarded a $2.3 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to strengthen nursing education, expand workforce training, and grow allied health pathways across the islands.
College officials said the 36-month grant runs from February 2026 through January 2029 and will support a shift to a concept-based nursing curriculum, development of a state-of-the-art simulation skills laboratory, and the relaunch of workforce programs such as hemodialysis technician and community health worker certificates.
Speaking during the virtual press conference, Helmsley Charitable Trust representative Walter Panzirer said the organization prioritizes rural and underserved communities and views the CNMI as facing persistent health care workforce challenges that can limit access to care.
“This investment helps build local capacity, expand hands-on training opportunity, and supports a sustainable pipeline of health care professionals that is so desperately needed on the islands,” Panzirer said.
NMC President Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero called the award one of the college’s largest non-government grants and said it comes as the CNMI faces an economic downturn and other pressures.
He also pointed to Helmsley’s prior investment at the Commonwealth Health Care Center, referencing the trust’s earlier funding for an MRI machine.
Deleon Guerrero credited NMC’s nursing leadership for months of work on the effort and said the funding will help ensure students have strong training equipment and curriculum aimed at both NCLEX success and meeting community needs.
During the Q&A session, Panzirer said Helmsley does not take unsolicited grant applications and described the award as the result of stakeholder conversations and needs assessment in the CNMI.
He said Helmsley expanded its giving footprint after research into challenges in U.S. Pacific communities, adding that the trust expects to remain engaged long-term.
