Aspirus Langlade Hospital Successfully Launches SANE Program
Providing compassionate care for adolescents and adult sexual assault victims
ASPIRUS HEALTH
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reports that about 1.2 million Wisconsin adults have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime – that’s about one out of three adult women and almost one out of every five adult men.
Aspirus Langlade Hospital in Antigo recently became the eighth Aspirus Hospital offering direct local access to a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program in its Emergency Department (ED).
“The experience of sexual assault is deeply devastating for patients and their loved ones,” said Cathy Conner, Emergency Department Manager at Aspirus Langlade Hospital. “To help begin the healing process, the nurses of our SANE Program provide compassionate care and treatment to patients who have been assaulted.”
What Happens During the Exam
Aspirus SANE exams can be done up to 120 hours, or five days, after an assault. When patients report to an Aspirus ED where services are available, they are brought to a dedicated safe and private environment where the exam will take place. With permission, the nurse will ask the patient about the assault, perform a physical exam, complete an evidence collection kit, offer risk assessment for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and coordinate care with a sexual assault advocate.
“Our exams encompass trauma-informed care. A patient has been through a traumatic event and therefore we give them their autonomy back during this exam and allow them the opportunity to make choices for themselves,” says Rhonda Knoblock, SANE Coordinator at Aspirus Langlade. “Some of the choices they can make are about what services they want us to provide for them and then setting a pace that they’re comfortable with.”
The Value of Care
Care is important whether a patient chooses to report the assault to law enforcement or not.
If the patient wishes to report, the SANE nurse will help. Nurses are mandated to report sexual assaults of patients under 18 years old. If the patient is over 18 and unsure if they want to report the assault, the evidence collected during the exam will go into a kit that will be shipped directly to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, where Knoblock says it will be held for up to ten years for them to decide if they would like to report of not.
If the patient would like to track their kit through the chain of custody from law enforcement to crime lab, the nurse can provide information.
Aspirus SANE Programs have expanded across the system to now provide services in Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Northeast Minnesota. If someone has experienced sexual assault, they can go to one of the locations or to their nearest ED to get set up with arrangements to travel to the nearest hospital that does perform forensic exams. If a survivor is seeking care where SANE services aren’t available, patients can still get the preventative care they need such as emergency contraception, as well as protection against STIs and HIV.
“We are proud to add this important program at Aspirus Langlade which excels in providing highly specialized clinical care in concert with the compassion needed under difficult circumstances,” said Sherry Bunten, President-Aspirus Northeast WI Division.
For more information on the Aspirus Sexual Assault Treatment program and its available locations, visit aspirus.org.