April 14, 2021 at 5:26 p.m.
Howard Young Medical Center launches local SANE program
Howard Young Medical Center launches local SANE program
By Stephanie Kuski-
In an effort to bring national awareness to this issue, Sexual Assault Awareness Month has been observed each April for the last two decades to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities on preventing sexual violence.
On a local level, one resident healthcare provider is also working to provide critical resources and support for sexual assault victims.
In November 2020, Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff launched a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program that trains nurses in trauma-informed care to provide sexual assault victims with compassionate and comprehensive forensic evaluation as well as emotional support and additional resources.
SANE nurses are highly specialized registered nurses who have undergone advanced education and clinical preparation to support the individualized needs of abuse victims.
So far, six nurses have successfully completed the SANE program at Howard Young.
That also means any individual who has experienced sexual assault - men, women, adolescents, members of the LGBTQ+ community - can now go to the Howard Young emergency department 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive a free, confidential exam. Pediatric cases will be referred to a specialized program outside of Howard Young.
SANE nurses are equipped to collect evidence for prosecution and manage the chain of custody, but these nurses are also trained to support victims who have just been through a traumatic experience.
"Above and beyond providing evidence collection for law enforcement... it provides a wellness check for the survivor themselves," explained Braden Bayne-Allison, sexual assault outreach coordinator with the Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. "So yes, we're holding more perpetrators accountable and we're getting more evidence and we're creating better cases against criminals; but at a very basic level, we're providing really important health care to people who have been injured emotionally and medically."
When a SANE nurse is called onto a case, a victims advocate from Tri-County Council - a local agency that serves victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse - will also be called in to provide an extra layer of support. Bayne-Allison said their role is to advocate for victims and ensure their experience is met with the utmost respect and care.
"Being a SANE nurse is also being a voice for the victim," noted Becky Mader, RN, BSN, supervisor of patient care services in the emergency department at Howard Young Medical Center. "One in five women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, so we all know someone who has been involved in this situation. It's under-reported. It's not talked about. And we feel we have a place to tell their story and help them recover."
"We get the evidence collected, but more importantly, we're treating that person as a whole," echoed Howard Young SANE Nurse Lacy Santilli, RN. "Part of that holistic care is mental health. When they leave our doors, making sure they're set up with whatever they need."
Santilli said the entire SANE program trains nurses to employ highly specialized skills that are not typically taught in nursing school. She noted every case is different and every victim reacts differently, so learning to competently handle these situations takes hands-on experience.
SANE nurses are also trained in trauma-informed care, which includes a head-to-toe examination, obtaining and collecting specimens for DNA analysis and taking a patient's history even when their memory of the incident is fragmented. The program also teaches SANE nurses to use special kits to test a victim's blood in the case of a suspected drug-facilitated assault, which is then sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab for further testing.
However, the victim has the sole power to decide how the examination will take place. Victims can choose to have evidence collected, report their story to authorities and can receive STI medication, birth control and/or a pregnancy screening, but they can also choose to only have a wellness check and nothing else.
"They're in control of what we do for them," Mader commented. "It's giving the victim the ability to control the situation, because their control was taken away from them... and they don't have to make all of the decisions right away. It's on their timeline. If they feel they're not ready to have a full examination but they want to come back within a day or two, they have the right to do that."
"If they can't decide if they want to report it to law enforcement or not and they want evidence collected, we can still collect that and send it, and there's a different process for non-reporting," Santilli added. "That kit will stay at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, I believe it's nine to 10 years, and they have that option then to report it down the line if they wish to do that."
At the conclusion of a SANE exam, Tri-County Council advocates ensure victims are equipped with all of the resources they offer, including emergency shelter and transportation as well as legal, medical and personal advocacy services.
Tri-County Council also provides an invaluable resource to the community by educating others about sexual violence and domestic assault prevention. To facilitate that mission, Tri-County Council is partnering with the Oneida County Health Department and Rhinelander High School to pilot Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) this spring, an evidence-based sexual violence prevention program geared towards male athletes that encourages coaches to teach youth healthy relationship skills.
These resources bring awareness to the issue of sexual violence in our community, a topic that is undoubtedly difficult to talk about but nonetheless prevails, oftentimes under the radar. Between 2017 and 2019, 568 Oneida County residents received sexual assault services from Tri-County Council. In October 2020, Tri-County executive director Shellie Holmes reported a 300 percent increase in child sexual assaults in Oneida County following the nationwide COVID-19 shutdown.
"Domestic violence has skyrocketed with COVID," Santilli echoed. "People are vulnerable right now. We certainly want the word to be out that we're here. Even if they don't want to report it, we're here for them."
Mader added that local Native American populations also have a high rate of domestic and sexual crimes that are often under-reported, so supporting these populations is vital. In addition to this, she noted that "sex to survive is a real epidemic that we also have in our communities."
While some of these issues are swept under the rug out of fear of retaliation or stigma, the entire community is affected by the far-reaching ramifications of sexual violence. This way, programs like CBIM offer opportunities to educate young people in an effort to prevent the violence before it ever starts.
"Preventing sexual violence has such an overarching impact on community health, on individual health, mental wellbeing, homelessness, youth suicide rates," Bayne-Allison commented. "It all really ties in, and we see all sorts of other negative impacts beyond the immediate incident."
"The community's health is affected greatly by all of this," Santilli added.
The SANE program at Howard Young is especially critical because without it, victims were left with no other option than to drive to the next closest SANE program - which, before Howard Young launched their SANE program, was either Aspirus in Wausau or Ascension St. Clare's in Weston.
"You can imagine the courage it takes to walk into one ER or to talk to a provider and say 'I've been sexually assaulted'," Bayne-Allison commented, "and now you're told, 'Get in your car, drive to Wausau and go tell someone else.' ... With certainty I can say the lack of local SANE has prevented multiple individuals from seeking the treatment they're entitled to."
Not only was this a huge deterrent for victims, but oftentimes, local police would be called in to escort victims to Wausau or Weston for a SANE exam, which required many hours of overtime for officers and strained local departments' resources. In an effort to remedy this, letters of support advocating for a local SANE program were sent to Howard Young from the Rhinelander, Oneida County, Minocqua and Woodruff police departments as well as Tri-County Council and the North Central Chiefs of Police Association.
"All of the law enforcement of the Northwoods have been pushing for this program," Santilli commented. "We're working with the law enforcement agencies along with the DA office of Oneida County and Tri-County to get a team together so we can review cases and all be connected."
"We're in this together as a community," Mader added. "We can't have a SANE program if we don't have advocacy. We need law enforcement and the attorney's office all on the same page. With that, we're looking to really develop a SART program."
Sexual Assault Response Teams, or SART, are multidisciplinary response teams that provide direct intervention to sexual assault victims as they interact with the criminal justice system, coordinating effective investigative efforts when sexual assault is reported. According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, "SART is designed as a vehicle for collaboration, relationship building, training, education and accountability among and between professionals, making the most of limited public resources."
This way, local healthcare providers are working collaboratively with the Department of Justice, law enforcement, victims advocates and SANE nurses to support sexual assault victims long after the immediate incident.
Howard Young is also bringing visibility to sexual violence awareness by promoting Teal Tuesday during the month of April as a sign of supporting sexual assault survivors. The hospital will also promote Denim Day on April 28, a day in which individuals worldwide wear blue jeans to support survivors and educate others about preventing sexual violence. Howard Young will have a pair of blue jeans available at the facility for individuals to sign to honor of those who have experienced sexual violence.
Sexual assault victims in need of a SANE exam and/or additional emergency support are asked to present to the Howard Young Medical Center emergency department at any time, located at 240 Maple Street in Woodruff. Contact the Howard Young emergency department by calling 715-356-8000.
The Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault also provides a myriad of additional resources for those experiencing sexual and/or domestic violence. Call Tri-County Council's Rhinelander office at 715-362-6841 or visit https://tricountycouncilondvsa.org for more information. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, call the 24/7 crisis hotline at 800-236-1222.
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