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 https://www.aspirus.org/sexual-assault-treatment.