Portage County Emergency Medical Services applied for grant funding from the North Central Regional Trauma Advisory Council and has raised about $7,000 in donations to assemble Stop the Bleed kits for Portage County schools, officials said at a county emergency services committee meeting.

The grant application, which could provide up to $7,500, aims to put trauma-control kits into school buildings across the county. Emergency services staff said the immediate goal is about 10 kits per school, with an ultimate, longer-term aim of placing kits in each classroom if funding allows.

The kits the county plans to assemble include five tourniquets, three pairs of gloves, gauze, chest seals and an Israeli-style bandage; staff said they will add a simpler self-adhering wrap to make use easier for untrained users. Committee members were told the only commonly expiring items are chest seals and some gloves; chest seals cost about $12 each.

School maintenance and checks would be handled by the school districts, with the county keeping a distribution record and coordinating follow-up. An identified school liaison will also assist in checking and tracking kits, staff said. Officials noted that different schools may choose different storage locations; while some prefer hallway alarm boxes or automated external defibrillator (AED) cases, emergency staff recommended classroom locations as a long-term ideal so a kit remains accessible if a classroom is barricaded.

Committee members discussed the best placement for kits and the risk of making supplies too accessible to students; staff said schools would decide final storage locations. Funding for the kits will come from donations solicited by county staff unless the grant is awarded; staff said no county budget change was being requested at this time.

The county expected a decision on the regional grant application at the end of May. If funded, staff would order components and assemble the kits for distribution to participating districts including Stevens Point and the outlying Amherst and Almond areas that were named in the discussion.

The matter was presented as a discussion with possible action (the grant application) but no formal committee vote was recorded.