Our People Make the Difference
REDI Transports specializes in secure and reliable transports of both prisoners and behavioral health patients. Our quality care is implemented by our highly-educated and committed staff members. Without their dedication and hard work, REDI Transports simply could not be where it is today.
When hiring a new agent we take an applicant’s employment history into great consideration. Experiences in law enforcement, security, corrections, and behavioral health allow our staff to stay one step ahead. There is no way to measure the value of predicting potentially hostile situations. This heightened awareness is second nature for our experienced team members and allows for consistently successful transports.
However, at REDI Transports it is our highly qualified agents and administrators that sets us apart from our competitors. The genuine passion our team possesses amplifies our company's efficiency and positive attitude.
Don’t believe us? We asked members of our team to share a bit about what it is like working at REDI Transports and here is what they said.
When asked what she finds most rewarding about her job Michelle, Executive Assistant and Coordinator, answered, “The most rewarding aspect of my job is that I am able to grow here at REDI Transports. That has been proven to me as I reflect on the past two years. In previous jobs, I have not been given as many opportunities to do so. I always wanted more and was given tasks, which I exceeded, and a pat on the back was always my reward. It’s a confidence booster when your coworkers compliment you with new goals to strive towards and recognition truly exists as it does here, at REDI. I have worked in the office, worked from home, and been given the opportunity to travel…isn’t that a dream job?! I have been able to enjoy work because of the environment REDI Transports provides.”
When talking to Dennis, Customer Relations Specialist, about his transition to REDI Transports he said “I am always excited to interact with our customers and examine ways we can improve our partnership through new and innovative strategies.”
We asked Alicia, VP of Operations, to talk about REDI’s company culture and she shared “REDI's culture is simple! It's not what you say but rather how you say it, treat people the way you want to be treated.”
REDI Transports is always looking for experienced, talented, and dedicated employees to be part of our growing team. For more information and to apply to open positions visit our employment page. ( https://redi-transports.com/employment/)
Being REDI for Anything
REDI Transports provides prisoner, juvenile, and behavioral health transports throughout the Midwest and beyond. We recognize the great responsibility that comes with the services we provide and take every precaution to ensure the safety of our staff, clients, and surrounding communities.
75% of our agents have experience in law enforcement which translates extremely well into our field of work. Other’s backgrounds are typically in other related fields, such as corrections, security and behavioral health. Our staff’s diverse exposure with various detainees enhances our ability to predict and defuse potentially threatening situations. This proficiency can then be amplified by the customized training we provide for our prisoner, juvenile, and behavioral health transport agents.
Our extensive training allows our team to prepare for the infinite scenarios they could find themselves in while transporting detainees. Our staff training includes (but is not limited to) de-escalation training, trauma informed care, specialized training for high risk detainees, effective communication techniques, CPR/first aid training, specialized search techniques, scenario training, training in HIPPA law, and training in the use of hard and soft restraints.
In addition to our highly qualified team and exceptional training program, REDI Transports remains on the cutting edge of technology. We are continually finding new ways to better qualify ourselves as a leading transport company. In recent years, we’ve adapted our vehicle technology to include gps monitoring and an in-vehicle camera system. We also have a proprietary system for nationwide, live communication that allows for collaboration in real time. With this technology, we can solidify our confidence in our agents as they are out in the field. REDI Transports also has an ASC certified mechanic on staff who is able to manage regular maintenance and assess when we may need to cycle out our vehicles to ensure a first class level of security.
At our core we are Responsive, Efficient, Dependable, and Informed. When challenges present themselves our team has the passion, education and tools needed to neutralize potentially dangerous situations. It is our goal to continue setting industry standards by being REDI for anything.
Being Aware of Mental Health
In 2016, REDI Transports became aware of the great need for behavioral health transportation in the Midwest. As a company that prides itself in serving our community, we simply could not standby. This opportunity was quickly adopted by our team with the guidance of an extensive training program that provides our agents with the key skills required for quality behavioral health transports.
President & CEO of REDI Transports, Crystal Cook, serves on the board of National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI). As a board member of this organization, Cook wants to project NAMI’s mission to provide advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives. When adding behavioral health transports to their services, REDI's began implementing an ever-evolving training program to educate those working with behavioral health patients.
Our specially-tailored training program includes, but is not limited to: de-escalation training, effective communication techniques, CPR/first aid training, specialized search techniques, scenario training, training in HIPPA law, training in the use of soft restraints as needed/requested, and trauma informed care training (specifically, Crisis Intervention Partners through the NAMI grant). In addition to this, our agents are required to complete monthly continued-education training courses to sharpen their skills in behavioral health transportation.
Additionally, we continue to work closely with our behavioral health community partners to ensure the safety of our patients and agents. Our team coordinates transports directly with government systems (such as health and human services), private behavioral healthcare facilities and even family members of our patients to understand each client’s individual needs. This guarantees not only success for our transport, but also the comfort of our client. To enhance this comfort we also average a 1 to 1 agent to patient ratio. This allows for our team to provide compassionate and responsive care during each transport.
By implementing leading training techniques and setting industry standards, REDI Transports is paving a path towards a better future. A future in which we promise to continue serving and advocating for the behavioral health community.
The Evolution of REDI Transports
REDI Transports, formerly Wisconsin Lock and Load, was founded by Gregg Haney in 2006. After retiring from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, Haney was dedicated to absorbing the responsibility of transporting prisoners to enable law enforcement officers to tend to other critical duties. With the majority of REDI Transports’ staff having a history in law enforcement, we have experienced first hand how to neutralize and control potential dangerous situations by continually expanding our education and training.
Our great success could not have been possible without the tenacious efforts of Dennis Kocken. This former Brown County Sheriff, now REDI employee, went to the supreme court in 2003 to establish the right to use a private company for prisoner transport. Without this legal precedent, REDI Transports could have never existed. We are honored to have Dennis as a part of our team, sharing his expertise and passion for the industry.
In recent years, REDI Transports began to recognize opportunities for growth. Starting with a transfer in ownership, our company went through a full transformation both inside and out.
Lannea Haney, a retired officer from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and wife of Gregg Haney, took ownership of what was then Wisconsin Lock and Load, in 2019. As part of a male-dominant industry, Lannea saw a need for equal representation in their management team to ensure a more balanced and informed perspective. In doing so Lannea transitioned the company to the leadership of her daughter, Crystal Cook. With a background in strategic planning, Crystal and her team are constantly evolving to become the leading provider of human service transports across the nation.
With these internal changes, we began to recognize dissonance between who our company is at its core and what our name represented. Our company was rapidly expanding outside of the state, while also introducing new services to incorporate behavioral health transport. We needed a new title that would elicit the same reliability as the previous name, while also softening any intimidation derived from our relationship with law enforcement. With this, REDI Transports was born. This new title and brand identity freed our company of any limitations to a single service or region and does a great job of defining who we are at our core: responsive, efficient, dependable, and informed.
At REDI Transports, it is our goal to set industry standards with progressive leadership, quality training, and solidified core values that guide our team towards the future. We are proud to be celebrating our 15 year anniversary with such a strong and motivated team and we look forward to watching our establishment continue to grow.
Temporary Directive: Employee Self Health Assessment Check Prior to Reporting to Work and Reporting Possible Exposure to COVID-19
This temporary directive regarding employee self-health assessment check prior to starting their work day and notification of exposure to COVID-19 is a necessary proactive measure to ensure the health of our employees, family, community and transported persons. It is also to conform with the directives of several of the clients we serve.
Effective immediately, until further notice, employees are required to check their bodily temperature* before starting work. The employee is to affirm that they do not have any symptoms such as; fever, temperature over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, cough, sore throat or any symptoms publicly announced to be associated with COVID-19. The employee must report to the Vice President any exposure to, close contact with, in confined area with a person known to have been infected with COVID-19.
The employee is affirming that this directive was followed by virtue of punching in/starting work for the day. The management team also follows this directive when they arrive at the office and follow the sign in procedure. Do not report to the office if you have any symptoms. The office has been thoroughly disinfected/sanitized and is to be considered a sterile environment.
Should the employee be ill or have symptoms of COVID-19, or other communicable illness, they are not to report for work and are to contact the Vice President immediately. Employee should follow the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation to self-isolate for 14 days and seek medical advice.
Directive Summary:
- Take temperature before reporting to work, temperature must be under 100.4
- Confirm no symptoms of illness such as, cough or sore throat, shortness of breath
- Do not report to work if fever or symptoms present
- Contact Vice President Immediately if unable to report to work
- Self-Isolate for 14 days, seek medical advise
- Notify Vice President if known exposure to someone with COVID-19
Additionally, employees need to report information to the Vice President of any jails, prisons, health care facilities or mental institutions regarding implementing procedures or directives that could affect our transport operations.
If an employee does not have a thermometer to check their temperature, please contact the Vice President. Please keep abreast of the latest information put out by Federal, State, Local governments and especially the Center for Disease Control.
*This directive is in accordance with The American Disabilities Act for Pandemic Preparation in the Workplace: During a pandemic, may an ADA-covered employer take its employees’ temperatures to determine whether they have a fever?
Generally, measuring an employee’s body temperature is a medical examination. If pandemic influenza symptoms become more severe than the seasonal flu or the H1N1 virus in the spring/summer of 2009, or if pandemic influenza becomes widespread in the community as assessed by state or local health authorities or the CDC, then employers may measure employees’ body temperature. However, employers should be aware that some people with influenza, including the 2009 H1N1 virus, do not have a fever.
REDI Transports Responds to COVID-19
March 13, 2020
To Our Valued Customers and Partners,
At REDI Transports, we are proud to be Responsive, Efficient, Dependable, and Informed. As our communities continue to feel the increased impact of Coronavirus, we feel it is important to share with you what we are doing to keep our employees, those we transport, and the public safe and healthy. Please be assured we have protocols in place, which are aligned with recommendations from the CDC and local public health officials. We will continue to strive to take great care of the people in the communities in which we serve, from our corporate headquarters in Green Bay, WI across the country in the counties and cities we pass through.
As part of our protocols, our agents have heightened the cleaning and disinfecting procedures of their vehicles to maintain a healthy environment for themselves and for our transportees. We’ve instructed anyone who is not feeling well to stay home out of an abundance of caution and to self-monitor their symptoms. In addition to following CDC guidance regarding healthy habits and handwashing techniques, all agents have been equipped with procedures to follow if they come in contact with or become impacted by the virus. Furthermore, for the protection of our employees, REDI Transports will not accept transports at this time for individuals displaying symptoms of the virus such as difficulty breathing and shortness of breath, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, dry cough, excessive fatigue, and/or fever.
Currently, we are also limiting our participation in conferences and conventions as well as discouraging visitors in our office. Anyone who enters the corporate office will be required to sanitize their hands immediately. We will continue to be in touch with partners, customers, and vendors virtually or over the phone.
As the situation evolves, we may implement additional preventative measures to ensure the well being of transportees and team members, including staffing or service modifications. If further measures are deemed necessary, we will be in direct communication with any of you whom that decision might affect.
In addition, actions we have taken over the past several years have helped us prepare for scenarios like this and throughout this process, we have been continuously refining and implementing new procedures. From investing in secure technology and mobile work environments to personal safety- including health, hygiene, cleaning and sanitation- we have allocated an abundance of resources into building company policies that go above and beyond state and federal guidelines to ensure that we can continue business as usual.
Thank you in advance for your patience as we navigate this challenging situation one day at a time and determine how best to continue serving our communities, while maintaining our focus where it belongs: on our customers, our employees, and on those we transport.
Sincerely,
Crystal M. H. Cook, President and CEO REDI Transports