Prosecutor warns Baptist Floyd will stop blood draws; asks commissioners to join talks with alternatives and consider ordinance to recoup costs

Floyd County Prosecutor Chris told commissioners on Jan. 20 that Baptist Floyd will stop providing blood draws for law enforcement as of Feb. 1, creating an urgent need for alternative service arrangements to support impaired-driving investigations and prosecutions.

Chris said the prosecutor’s office is evaluating options including Norton’s Healthcare and AmeriPro, and has asked that one commissioner and one county council member join him in meetings with provider representatives. He described an expected annual volume of about 150–200 blood draws across jurisdictions and said some providers have indicated willingness to work with the county on-site or as backups.

To recover costs, Chris said he would ask County Attorney Christie Fox to review a statute that might allow an ordinance requiring defendants to pay blood-draw costs as part of plea agreements; he emphasized that cost-recovery would apply only to defendants convicted or placed on probation and not to cases dismissed or where tests are negative.

Sheriff’s Office representatives and commissioners discussed the limits of the county’s existing contracts: the sheriff said the current contract covered his agency’s nursing and on-site needs but did not extend liability or procedural coverage to outside agencies for blood draws. County Attorney Christie Fox agreed to review contract language and liability concerns and suggested a meeting with the sheriff’s attorney, the prosecutor and county staff to seek a resolution or an amended contract.

Commissioners approved taking action on two independent-contract items for the prosecutor’s office at the meeting (funded from the prosecutor’s budget), and staff agreed to follow up on negotiations and statutory review. No final vendor was selected at the meeting.