FRENCH LICK, Ind. (October 2, 2026) – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) has announced that the City of Westfield is the recipient of a 2026 Aim Program Innovation Award for the Westfield Fire Department’s Mobile Blood Response Program. The city was recognized during the Annual Awards Luncheon, presented by Baker Tilly, on Wednesday, September 30, at the 2026 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick. Westfield earned the award in the over 50,000 population category.
Launched in October 2025, the Mobile Blood Response Program established Hamilton County’s first prehospital blood transfusion capability, giving specially trained paramedics the ability to administer blood products to patients before they reach the hospital. Prior to the program, patients experiencing life-threatening hemorrhage typically waited until hospital arrival to receive blood, and even in Westfield the nearest Level I Trauma Center is 20 to 27 minutes away. For patients suffering from hemorrhagic shock, traumatic injuries, gastrointestinal bleeding, obstetric emergencies, or other life-threatening conditions, those minutes can significantly impact outcomes.
The Westfield Fire Department developed the program in partnership with physician leaders including Dr. Lewis Jacobson, director of Ascension St. Vincent’s Level I Trauma Center. It operates through the department’s Field Resource Paramedic vehicle, which carries liquid plasma and packed red blood cells in a mobile refrigeration unit; a blood warmer and rapid infuser allow paramedics to administer a unit of blood in approximately three minutes. The program was built with an initial investment of roughly $20,000 and ongoing blood product costs of approximately $5,000. Since launch, it has been deployed 10 times, provided transfusions to seven patients, and delivered 12 units of blood products, every one reviewed and confirmed medically necessary by the department’s physician medical director. It was intentionally designed as a regional asset and has already been deployed in support of the Tipton Fire Department. In June 2026, Drake Fuentes, the first patient to receive blood through the program following a serious crash, returned to thank the paramedics who saved his life and to support a community blood drive that helps sustain the program.
“The recipients of the Aim Program Innovation Award are municipalities that identify a critical need and take decisive action to meet it,” said Aim CEO Matt Greller. “Westfield recognized a gap in prehospital emergency care and built a program that closes it, saving lives within its borders and beyond. We are proud to present the Program Innovation Award to the City of Westfield for the vision and leadership behind the Mobile Blood Response Program.”
The Program Innovation Award honors municipalities that have successfully developed and implemented creative new approaches to delivering services or conducting municipal operations. Awards are presented in multiple population categories based on nominations received.
In its 50th year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A seven-member panel of judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.
Conference Facts:
2026 Aim Ideas Summit
September 29-October 1, 2026
French Lick Springs Resort | French Lick, Indiana
Attendance: 1,100 (pending final registration count)
Further information: www.aimindiana.org
Since the 1890s, Aim, formerly the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, has been an advocate for Indiana municipalities. Aim is the official voice of municipal government in Indiana, with more than 460 cities and towns as members. Our purpose is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent and the engines driving our state’s economy.