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Council approves contract to stock EMS rigs with blood supplies and refrigerators
Summary
Council authorized a services agreement with Freighter South to supply and rotate blood for City of Kenosha Fire Department med units, with a projected March 31 go‑live, two O‑positive packed red cell units per rig, and an initial per‑unit cost of $252 included in ALS billing.
The Kenosha City Council approved a services agreement with Freighter South Inc. to supply and rotate blood for the city’s emergency medical service units, and to install refrigerator storage on med rigs.
Mister Lawson presented the agreement as implementing an item previously approved in the 2025 operating budget: refrigeration systems installed on all med units and a vendor relationship with Freighter South to supply and rotate blood so inventory is used and not wasted. "What this is is... the agreement between Freight South to where we will be purchasing the blood and rotating the blood back in to make sure that it gets used so we're not wasting the blood," Lawson said.
Staff said the current cost under the agreement is $252 per unit and that, until a fee change is adopted by resolution, that cost will be included in the advanced life support (ALS) billing. Staff also said they plan to propose a $2.50 fee change to the fee schedule later. The Fire Chief described implementation timing and protocols: the department is running a three‑phase rollout (train, equip, implement), completed initial training phases and expects a March 31 go‑live date; each rig will carry two units of O‑positive packed red blood cells; inventory will be exchanged weekly and the city will be charged only when a unit is used.
Council members asked operational questions about unit types, quantity per rig, and weekly rotation; the chief confirmed two O‑positive packed red blood units per rig and explained the weekly replacement schedule. The agreement passed on a roll‑call vote.
