June 18, 2005

Genesis, Illini Campus To Provide Specialized Care For Sexual Assault Victims

Davenport, IA – When a patient comes to the Emergency Room in the midst of a heart attack, stroke or trauma, a health care team takes life-saving action.

When a victim of sexual assault comes into the Emergency Room, nurse Danielle Leidig of Genesis Medical Center’s Illini Campus wants the response to be equally competent and compassionate.

It’s why Leidig has trained to become a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), a registered nurse who has advanced education and clinical preparation in the forensic examination of sexual assault victims. It’s also why she initiated a conference last week at the Illini Campus to train other nurses, law enforcement, prosecutors, mental health care workers and sexual assault victim advocates to be part of a Sexual Assault Response Team.

Leading the conference was nationally renowned forensic nurse Colleen O’Brien, R.N., M.S., a SANE nurse who created one of the first community SANE training programs in 1988 in Madison, Wis. She now helps communities across the country develop their own programs. Nationwide, the advent of SANE programs has made it possible for sexual assault victims to consistently receive prompt and sensitive emergency care from medical professionals who understand victimization issues.

“Every 6 minutes a woman is raped,” Leidig, R.N., said. “Whether it happens to you or someone you know, sexual assault will touch all of us eventually. It can be very traumatizing for victims of sexual assault to come to the hospital; tell their frightening story to three or four different people; and undergo the physical exam needed to collect evidence. We’re trying to reduce that to one person who can mediate the process.

“By working as a team, we can ensure one specially trained nurse is there to care for them from the time they enter the Emergency Department to the time they leave and who can link them with counseling services, victim advocates and law enforcement. We want to collect evidence in the best way we can, so we can get repercussions for their assailants and get them off the streets.”

Last year, Genesis Medical Center, Davenport launched the Quad Cities’ first Sexual Assault Resource Program. Now, Genesis’ Illini Campus is close to completing the Illinois requirements needed to launch a similar program. A sexual assault nurse examiner must have 40 hours of classroom education and 60 hours of clinical education.

“This extensive training enables us to be expert witnesses who can render an opinion if asked in court if the injuries were consistent with sexual assault,” Leidig said.

Steve Heald, who also has trained to be a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner at Illini, is motivated to protect the women who have influenced his life.

“I look at my 9-year-old daughter and the many positive female influences in my life and want to do whatever I can to protect them,” Heald, R.N., said. “Too often, sexual offenders get away with it and go back onto the streets. Sometimes, it’s because hospital emergency departments don’t have the trained professionals to make effective documentation and correctly gather the forensic evidence. We want to prevent that from happening in our community.”

In the future, Heald and Leidig want to earn certification that will enable them to help pediatric victims of sexual assault.