WAVERLY, OH (July 6, 2020) – Adena Pike Medical Center (APMC) now provides services to patients reporting to its Emergency Department following a sexual assault. Beginning this month, Adena Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide care, support and aid to these patients.
“We hope that by delivering this much needed service at Adena Pike Medical Center, we can enhance the care we provide to patients affected by sexual assault, and assure they are receiving the best possible trauma-informed care,” said Julie Fairchild, SANE/Forensic Nursing Coordinator. “By not having to be transferred to see a SANE nurse, or having to tell their story one more time can mean the difference between a patient seeking additional services or not.”
Previously, patients arriving at APMC with a report of sexual assault were transferred to Adena Regional Medical Center, located in Chillicothe, for an examination by a specially trained SANE nurse. Trauma-informed services now being provided at APMC can include medical examination; sexual assault evidence collection; prophylactic treatment of sexually transmitted infections; appropriate testing; forensic photography, and documentation of injuries. Additional services to help the patient in her/his recovery includes advocacy; resource linkage; referral to safety services, including safety planning and shelter placement.
Adena’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners are qualified forensic nurses who have received special training to conduct sexual assault evidentiary exams for sexual assault victims. SANE nurses are specially trained in the medical, psychological, and forensic examination of a sexual assault victim. They collaborate with the health care team, law enforcement and community members to provide the best response to the needs of the community concerning interpersonal violence.
