SANE nurses important first contact for sexual assault victims

[ismnotwasm]

Advocate South Suburban Hospital: Rape victims get special treatment from nurses

After she was sexually assaulted outside of her apartment complex in Oak Forest four years ago, Dawn Rodriguez expected to wait a long time when she arrived at the emergency room at Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest.

Although she was bleary-eyed and emotionally distraught, she appeared to be in good health, so she expected medical personnel to attend to victims with more obvious wounds.

But Rodriguez had to wait only 20 minutes before seeing an advocate who would guide her through the emotional and legal processes. That person was Nancy Healy, a registered nurse and a certified sexual-assault nurse examiner, or SANE.

SANE nurses receive advanced education in forensic exams and in how to provide emotional support to sexual assault victims.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-sex-assault-treatment-sw-zon.ar0apr08,0,7944054.story

This is an excellent program. Talking to a nurse who specializes in forensics can make you believe in a hell on earth. EvenIn America, the Phat country.

I do have some problems with the wording of the title of the article ie "special treatment" but never mind that. The first stark lines about what this women "expected" after an sexual assault broke my heart.

This *is* an excellent program.

But this is a horror;

Rape Kit Test Backlog an 'Outrage'
Tens of Thousands of Untested Kits Sit on Police Shelves
Being raped is horrific enough, but for years victims have had to deal with another ordeal.

Tens of thousands of untested rape kits sit on police shelves.In many cities around the country the only way hospitals would collect the DNA evidence that is later used to identify and convict the rapist, was for victims to immediately press charges with the police.

Many victims who are traumatized after the attack and too afraid to press charges, after time change their mind.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7204533&page=1

[BlueIris]

1. Great article. And I am still filled with rage at the backlog of unprocessed rape kits

in this country, 2+ years after first hearing about this travesty.

[bliss_eternal]

2. reading about sane today,

...checked out the nursing website. it seems there aren't enough sane programs in place (in addition to the terrible back-log).
for example, here's california:

http://www.iafn.org/associations/8556/northamerica.cfm

(i attempted to link the list, but apparently it won't let me--so do a search under california if interested in the example i spoke of).

the closest SANE to my area is a few cities away. what of women that live where there's no sane near them at all?

[Odin2005]

3. KICK