This week, the City of Nevada was the recipient of a $1,000 grant from the Alliant Energy Foundation in support of first aid kits for city vehicles and facilities.
“Alliant has been a really good partner with us,” said Nevada Fire Chief Ray Reynolds, a City Safety Committee member.
Reynolds, knowing Alliant had come through for the City on several occasions with community grants, applied for the funds on behalf of the committee.
“I’m sure the departments would have supported this project through use of budget funds, but any time we can obtain grants with a city-wide benefit without affecting the various department budgets, it is a win-win for everyone involved,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds has previously received Alliant Energy Foundation grant funds to help put smoke alarms into Nevada homes and help pay for automated external defibrillators in the Nevada Police vehicles.
In regular times, an Alliant representative would have come to the City and presented the check in-person, allowing for handshakes and a check presentation photo. But these aren’t regular times.
This check was received by mail, but the different delivery method doesn’t diminish the grant’s importance.
As Reynolds explained, the city safety committee has been discussing the value of first aid kits in city facilities and work vehicles for all departments for more than a year.
“There’ve been a number of minor incidents in our facilities, where a first aid kit would have been useful,” he said.
One thing a first aid kit will have is disposable gloves.
“If a kid fell off a bike and our street guys were working in the vicinity, we’d like them to have rubber gloves as they helped out. We’re not asking them to do surgery, but we want our workers protected when they render aid.”
Reynolds also noted that city employees in several departments come across all types of things, like dog feces and litter. “You don’t want them handling any of that without gloves.”
Gloves are so necessary that they’ve already been put in all city vehicles by way of plastic bags. Now, they will become part of an organized first aid kit or cabinet (in buildings) that will include Band-Aids, eye drops, sterile water for rinsing, tape, scissors, aspirin, antacid, etc.
Overall, the City Safety Committee’s goal is to reduce injuries, which in turn reduces the cost of city insurance. “We focus on training and education to reduce slips, trips, and falls, and make our workplaces safer,” Reynolds said.
But minor injuries do happen, and it will be useful to have the necessary tools conveniently located and organized in each city building and vehicle.
To find out more about the Alliant Energy Foundation’s Community Grant Program, go to: https://www.alliantenergy.com/CommunityAndStewardship/CommunitySupport/GrantsAndCommunityPrograms.
