Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
July 08, 2015 01:00 AM

Lack of sexual assault nurses puts survivors at risk

Adam Rubenfire
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has recently raised concerns about the availability of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners at hospitals that serve her constituents in Washington state. Advocates say a lack of resources has made this a problem nationwide.

    Murray sent a strongly worded letter to the Washington State Hospital Association this month after a local TV news station questioned whether hospitals have enough nurses who are trained to collect evidence of sexual assault through a medical forensic examination, more commonly referred to as a rape kit. It's not uncommon for larger hospitals to have a SANE available 24/7, but experts say the nation still doesn't have enough to adequately serve survivors.

    In her letter, Murray told the hospital association that she has grown “increasingly concerned” about the the obstacles sexual assault survivors can face in obtaining a forensic exam. There's no collective data at the state level on which hospitals have trained nurses and forensic kits available, and there's a lack of uniformity in the information that is given to survivors, Murray noted.

    Murray asked the association to create an action plan for ensuring hospitals have examinations on-site, train more providers to be SANEs and identify what needs to be done for a sexual assault survivor who presents at a hospital, even if the hospital does not employ an examiner.

    Hospital association officials have spoken with Murray's office and are now collecting data on which hospitals have SANEs and other resources available, said spokeswoman Mary Kay Clunies-Ross. The state Legislature also formed a task force to address sexual violence issues this past legislative session.

    Clunies-Ross stressed that not just any nurse can perform the exams, rather it takes significant experience to conduct the multi-hour procedure of collecting evidence while also treating physical symptoms and providing emotional support. She noted that the quality of a forensic exam can make or break the case against a perpetrator.

    The International Association of Forensic Nurses estimates that only about 10% of U.S hospitals have a forensic nurse examiner available on site, and few hospitals have one available around-the-clock, said Carey Goryl, the group's CEO. Goryl thinks a lack of funding and resources has led providers to shy away from prioritizing rape kits as a service.

    Some states share SANEs across hospitals, and that may become more popular as hospitals collaborate more. But Goryl believes that hospitals should see the value of employing forensic nurses because, in addition to sexual assault, a properly-trained forensic nurse can gather evidence for other crimes like domestic violence and strangulation, allowing the hospital to provide more services under the same job.

    Especially in hospitals that don't employ a SANE, leaders need to coordinate with their nearby counterparts to ensure that they're helping patients get to help in the most efficient and timely way possible, Goryl said.

    “(Hospitals) need to have clarity and work on agreements of transfer,” Goryl said. “That transfer process can be where we lose people.”

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    CN_2021122p35_Smallhold Royal Trumpet Mushrooms 9.85_Buck Ennis_i.jpg
    Psychedelic therapy providers get creative as costs trip up patients
    Shafer Dr. David Shafer Clinic Botox cropped9.49.jpg
    A Botox boom for back-to-work
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing