Sexual assault victims can be assessed locally

WhidbeyHealth trains specialty nurse team

May 22, 2018 1:30 am
WhidbeyHealth nurses trained to assess victims of sexual assault are left to right: Jackie Blankenship, Rebecca Pina, program manager Jackie Bassett, Jacqueline Moore and Sherry Phay. Cynde Robinson, director of Coalition against Domestic Violence, is in the back row. Team member nurses Krista Burckhardt, Gayle Wallen and Tonya DeYoung were unavailable for the photo.
WhidbeyHealth nurses trained to assess victims of sexual assault are left to right: Jackie Blankenship, Rebecca Pina, program manager Jackie Bassett, Jacqueline Moore and Sherry Phay. Cynde Robinson, director of Coalition against Domestic Violence, is in the back row. Team member nurses Krista Burckhardt, Gayle Wallen and Tonya DeYoung were unavailable for the photo.

Nurses trained in the assessment sexual assault victims are once again available at WhidbeyHealth Medical Center.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, known as SANE, have been reinstated following a lapse caused by retirement, relocations and transfers.

SANE nurses are highly trained in the medical, psychological and forensic examination of a sexual assault victim; certification is required, according to a WhidbeyHealth press release.

Five forensic staff nurses received the special training necessary to conduct sexual assault evidentiary exams for rape victims; two other nurses experienced in the specialty were recruited and hired, said Lisa Sanford, chief nursing officer at the Coupeville hospital.

“We are now able to offer SANE examiners 24/7 at WhidbeyHealth for the victims of sexual assault,” said Jackie Bassett, manager of the program. “We are extremely pleased to provide reliable coverage for this important support to our patients, as well as to be able to work collaboratively with law enforcement.”

If a victim is unable to get a SANE exam, law enforcement’s ability to hold offenders accountable is hindered due to the physical evidence the exam provides.

Without a SANE nurse at WhidbeyHealth Medical Center, victims would be forced to go off the island, which could prevent some victims from getting the exam at all.