AUBURN, Wash. — The State of Washington does not have enough nurses trained to best help victims of sexual assault. However, health leaders say a new federal grant will make some improvements.
"We have way more demand than we have trained nurses, not only in our state, this is a nationwide issue,” said June Altaras with MultiCare Health System, which operates multiple hospitals in Western Washington.
MultiCare Health System just received a $1.5 million grant that will allow them to create a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training program.
The program will start next year and allow the healthcare system to hold four trainings annually for the next three years. The training will be free for nurses across the state with the goal of having 300 nurses go through the SANE training course and having 15 nurses get certified, which means they will undergo extra training.
“This grant helps us over three years, train 300 nurses across the state, and not only MultiCare nurses, we've committed that we will train any nurse interested,” said Altaras.
Altaras said nurses have advocated for the past two to three years for more of these SANE training opportunities. The training teaches nurses how to be more trauma-informed and also how best to collect forensic evidence in a sexual assault exam.
The SANE training is critical when it comes to collecting evidence so that it can be used in court if a survivor decides to press charges, according to Altaras.
“If you miss one step in the chain of custody, or you miss one step in your process or procedure, in collecting the evidence, it can be thrown out,” said Altaras. “And then people don't have as good a chance of bringing justice to the person that did sexual assault towards them.”
The deputy director of Rebuilding Hope Sexual Assault Center in Tacoma said she is glad that MultiCare is investing in a training that she says is “desperately needed” across the area.
“There is a huge lack of the number of trained, certified forensic nurses,” said Christina Lee, the deputy director of Rebuilding Hope Sexual Assault Center.
She said that Rebuilding Hope is seeing an increasing number of clients who have experienced sexual violence each year in Pierce and Kitsap counties. She said it is important that all communities have the right resources and trained staff to best serve survivors if they choose to seek medical attention.
“Since there's such a low number of trained, certified nurses, a nurse might not be able to arrive for many hours, let alone at all,” said Lee.
Although MultiCare said this still won't meet the demand across the state, it said it will make a big impact.
“For the citizens of Washington that experience this type of sexual assault, we think it could be transformational,” said Altaras.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and are seeking help, you can contact Rebuilding Hope’s 24/7 helpline at 1-855-757-7273 or can access more resources here.