Company approved to work with Henry County police

The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted June 4 to approve a contract with Ten-Eight Forensic Services Inc. to provide blood draw services for the Henry County Police Department with regard to DUI suspects.

Blood draws are now the primary practice for determining blood alcohol content. The only reliable location in the county for that has been Piedmont Henry Hospital, where a recent policy change now requires suspects getting that procedure to be admitted as patients, which can cost the county hundreds of dollars. Ten-Eight Forensic Services staffs phlebotomists who are available to assist police 24 hours a day with a response time of less than an hour, saving the county a great deal of money in the process.

HCPD’s five-year average for DUI arrests is 525 per year, although not consent to blood/breath/urine testing.